


Holly May in the Cog's Mystery

by LollingCat



Category: Animaniacs, Bendy and the Ink Machine, Cuphead (Video Game), Disney Cartoons (Classic), Villainous (Cartoon)
Genre: AU, AU of an AU of an AU, BABTQTIM, Based on Inky Mystery, Bendy and Boris in the Inky Mystery, Dark Holly AU, Multi, bbros, black and white world, bloody and dark, but I'm probably gonna mention colors by accident, but not too gorey, just ignore it unless it's red eyes or finger guns, relationships subject to change, this story doesn't have a happy ending unless you like bad guys winning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2019-11-13 02:21:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 30
Words: 120,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18022967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LollingCat/pseuds/LollingCat
Summary: Holly May in the Cog's Mystery is an AU of an amazing fanfiction called Bendy and Boris in the Inky Mystery, based off of the comic Bendy and Boris: The Quest for the Ink Machine.This AU, called the Dark Holly AU, is a series of alternate events that could have happened if (spoilers!) Felix hadn't hit Cog!Holly with the dart. Will get dark, will get bloody.





	1. She Will Never Fall

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Bendy and Boris in The Inky Mystery](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10726146) by [Mercowe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mercowe/pseuds/Mercowe), [ThisAnimatedPhantom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisAnimatedPhantom/pseuds/ThisAnimatedPhantom). 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is an AU based of ThisAnimatedPhantom's Bendy and Boris in the Inky Mystery, which is edited by Mercowe. Additionally, they have a side story/extras called Inky Extras, which includes Holly's Journal written by Mercowe. They have an amazing story going, based off of Rouge's Bendy and Boris: The Quest for the Ink Machine, and it's nearly 100 chapters long at the time of this chapter's posting.
> 
> A small community has been built around TAP's wonderful fanfiction, including other AUs or one-shot stories made by readers, and plenty of fanart that you can find on Inky Mystery's official Tumblr.
> 
> Seeing as this fanfiction I've chosen to write is an alternate series of events from Inky Mystery, I highly advise you read that fanfiction first, or you will not get what's going on, at all. Currently, the first chapter of my AU starts at the end of Inky Mystery's Chapter 92: Heroic Actions.
> 
> Now, this is my first post on Ao3, so I'm most likely gonna make a lot of mistakes. I have no idea what I'm doing v~v I hope you enjoy nonetheless!

**Chapter One: She Will Never Fall**

 

“Not if I have something to say about it, young lady,” Xedo Tiptail called out from above just as the net was atop the cog possessed Holly. The net landed on her with an umph, and she tumbled with surprise. The gold runes levitating Felix dissipated, and he dropped to the ground along with Mickey. Felix didn't waste his chance. By the time his feet touched the hard ground, the blowgun holding the sedative dart was to his mouth. He took a deep breath as quick as he could, worried he'd waste too much time, and then fired. Holly thrashed and the net went up in golden flames in a second. The dart honed in on her, and, with a beating heart, Felix begged it would hit true.

 

It did not.

 

He felt his heart drop as Holly jerked sporadically, twisting her head just in time, if accidentally, to avoid the dart coming at her. It flew past her, and her black eyes caught on it, widening. The dart slammed itself into a wall behind her, but by the time it hit the wall, a rune had lit up and it was ashes on the ground.

 

Holly's eyes snapped away from the dart and onto Felix, their eyes meeting. Felix's, full of horror and dread, and Holly's filled with pure, genuine bloodlust. A chill of terror went up his spine, and Felix knew he would not get out of this alive. Not with eyes as dark and treacherous as this new, evil Holly's.

 

But, he was spared for just a moment, as Holly whipped around, her pitch-black eyes training on the mute Mickey Mouse, who still clutched the doll for dear life, his body bruised and clothes battered. A rune lit up around him, and he was practically thrown in front of Holly. Another symbol, a golden color Felix was starting to learn to fear, popped up on Holly's palm right as she reached out for Mickey's neck.

 

“No!” Felix shouted, desperately running at her and wishing he had something to stop her. Xedo's eyes widened, horrified, and he moved as well.

 

Neither of them were quick enough. Even as Mickey fought back, her hand wrapped almost calmly around his neck, golden rune shining. The  _ zap  _ of magic and the sickening crunch that followed as Holly's hand tightened nearly made Felix, worldwide adventurer extraordinaire, vomit on the spot. Holly shoved Mickey backwards, magic glow dissipating as Mickey silently screamed, trembling and clawing at his neck, tears openly flowing. Felix felt a rush of sympathy and horror for the mouse, and knew soon that might be him.

 

Holly whirled around to face Xedo as he reached out a hand to stop her, even though the action had already been committed. Runes flashed around her, and while Felix knew it was fruitless, he called out a warning to the fox journalist. Flames spurted out of the runes, directly onto Xedo's side. The fox let out an excruciating scream, jumping to the side and colliding with the ground. He rolled in an attempt to smother them.

 

And then the dark-haired girl whipped around to stare Felix dead in the eyes, her wrath and bloodlust clear. Felix could practically see the million ways Holly was thinking of killing him. But it was a dark day in hell if she thought Felix wouldn't go down without a fight. He was going to make sure Xedo and Mickey escaped with their lives before the cog possessed girl could end him.

 

His fur bristled the longer she stared and the colder her eyes got. His mind was going a mile a minute, thinking of ways to save Mickey and Xedo. He was ready when a rune flared above him, and he dipped out of the way, panting with exhaustion but determined to keep going. He forced himself to keep moving as the golden symbols kept appearing all around him. He ran forward, zig-zagging erratically as the runes of fire and light flashed. For a moment, he thought it was a pointless game to keep playing as he had no way of getting to Holly while she had every way of harming him. Then he noticed how the runes seemed to conveniently steer him towards her, Mickey and Xedo, and he had a feeling of hope that he could at least attack her and distract her before it was squashed as he realized she was deliberately letting him get close.

 

He veered right harshly, nearly running straight into a runed wall of fire. His tail tip was singed from the flames, but he ignored it.

 

“I've learned some new tricks,” Holly stated over the now quieter but panicked whimpering screams of a burning Xedo. Her voice was cold, emotionless, robotic, as if fighting away her rage and hatred. “And I'm going to make you suffer through all of them,  _ Felix the Cat. _ ”

 

The way she spat his name with fury and distaste contrary to her previously chilling tone made Felix's hair stand on end, and his heart beat a million times faster. So he wasn't just going to be killed, he was going to have to burn first. Felix would play her twisted game if it meant getting Xedo and Mickey out of it.

 

“Holly! Please! You're hurting e-”

 

“Save your words, feline!” Holly shrieked, and a rune appeared in front of Felix so suddenly that he thought he broke his spine dodging it. The fire lashed out at him and he backed away with a pained grunt as the heat pressed up against his arm unbearably so.

 

Felix twisted away from more rabid runes as they flashed and blazed. His dodging lead him straight back to Holly again, and he stared into her black blazing eyes.

 

“Holly,” Felix started with no intent to finish as he saw the rage build up again in her eyes. She thrust her hand out in front of her, a rune appearing. Felix ducked down under the flames, and he caught a glimpse behind him of the wall of fire that encased him.

 

He shot forward and behind Holly. Her eyes followed him piercingly, and she backed away from him, fire flaring at her feet as she slipped on top of the cog, reclaiming her throne once more. Some of the embers caught on Felix's shirt and he snuffed them out as quickly as he could, but they had burned his shirt away up to his chest. Holly's eyes caught on his scars, new and old, and she smiled a twisted, demented smile.

 

A ring of runes flared behind her, followed by the rising of a large beast, a pelt of orange striped with night black. Flames flickered around and on it, rising as it roared.

 

Felix gulped as the fire tiger turned to face him, eyes narrowed and searching for its prey. It was not the same fire tiger he had faught, but he had no doubt the tiger fed off the vengeance of its summoner.

 

Felix's fur puffed up startled as a hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him up. He turned to see Mickey, who still shook in pain, helping him stand, eyes watery but courageous.

 

“Help Xedo and get out of here. Find the others. Tell them what- erm.” Felix's eyes glanced at the mouse's neck. “Scratch that last part. But help Xedo. I can handle the fire tiger.”

 

Mickey stared at him for a second, eyes flickering to the fire tiger. Then he nodded, face set stonely with grim purpose. He turned around and maneuvered around the walls of fire, heading towards the frantic fox.

 

Felix grappled for his magic bag, digging in and pulling out his lucky dagger. This would have to do for now. The fire tiger lunged at Felix and he jumped back, dagger raised to defend himself. He watched Holly float away on the cog from his peripheral vision, hovering above her destruction with a thin smile. Now she was even farther out of his reach. Cuss.

 

Felix sliced the dagger along the tiger’s shoulder as it swiped a paw at him, nearly bowling him over. His chest heaved as he took a shaking breath, his muscles trembling and begging him to take a break as the searing heat pounded on his back. He just had to make sure the tiger didn’t decide it wanted mouse with a side of fox instead.

 

The tiger roared ferociously, agitated its prey wouldn't be an easy kill. Felix allowed himself to smirk. This wasn't his first time in this rodeo.

 

The tiger lunged for him again, jaws opened wide. Felix leaped backwards, thrusting the dagger forward threateningly. The two continued to dance like this, Felix having to be extra careful not to be backed into any runed walls of flame.

 

Their dance was only broken when he saw Holly use a summoning rune from her spot above. His body tensed for what else she might throw in the fray, but from his angle he could not see what creature had been called. He didn't have time to ponder either, as the fire tiger roared and swiped at him again. He managed to get a nice, clean cut along the toes of the feline's right paw.

 

And then, he heard the tiniest mewl over the flickering fires and tiger roarings. The fire tiger stopped as well, too, its ears pricking as it turned its head around to pinpoint the mewl, a motherly glow in its eyes. But, whatever the mewling was, it did not return.

 

Felix used this distraction to slip away from the fire tiger. He beelined for Mickey and Xedo, who was thankfully not on fire anymore, although the burns seared his pelt painfully, having mutilated half of his face, one side of his neck, the top part of his fluffy brush-tail and a good chunk of his arm, as well as his clothes. Mickey seemed to have burned his left glove as well, most likely from patting the flames off of Xedo. Other than that and the redness of his neck, Mickey seemed well.

 

Felix caught his breath for a moment, sucking in breaths with a hunger. Then, he spoke, “We need to get out of here.” He didn't have the energy or time for more words, so he gestured to an exit, an unhinged door to their left. Mickey understood and stood up on shaky legs, supporting Xedo. Felix helped him, gingerly cradling the journalist's injured side, and helping him limp towards the door. Felix's heart pounded in his chest at their slow pace. Holly had wounded them all, slowed them all down. He prayed she wouldn't do anything worse. When they saved her, Xedo's burns and Mickey's muteness would harm her conscience enough.

 

_ 'I hope the others are safe,’  _ he thought. He spared a glance behind him to make sure neither Holly nor the fire tiger had spotted them, and to his dread, he saw the tiger lurking in flames, slowly prowling towards them on silent feet that only a feline could possess.

 

He jerked away from Xedo, wincing as the fox gasped in pain, and faced the tiger.

 

“Go, quickly! I'll be behind you,” Felix said speedily, the words tumbling over each other. The two understood the urgency in his voice and, while they both looked at the tiger with a loyalty to help their ally burning in their eyes, they made no protest as they continued their trek to the door.

 

The fire tiger pounced towards Felix, paws outstretched and black claws shining. It landed on the ground, closing the gap between them, fire stirring, and then leaped again. Felix must not have realized how exhausted and worn his body was because as he took a step back to dodge the cat, his footing tripped, and he stumbled. The tiger slammed into him, throwing him across the floor with some mean cuts across his sides. The dagger slipped from his fingers, landing on the ground with a clang. He rolled on the ground, fighting his exhaustion to at least make it to his knees.

 

Mickey and Xedo, just at the door, turned to him, faces turned in horror. Mickey made a move as if to rush to help him, but Xedo nearly tumbled over with a pained yelp. Mickey bit his lip, glancing at the fox and then to Felix, his dewy eyes conflicted, doll clutched tightly in his hand. Then, he mouthed something to Felix, something Felix was too far away to catch, and turned and helped Xedo through the door.

 

Felix returned his attention to the approaching fire tiger who prowled towards him. He drew his lips back in a snarl, ready to fight the familiar foe.

 

Then, the cog swooped down, Holly riding upon it. The fire tiger was startled by the appearance, and moved away with a grunt. It looked confused, but did not attack Holly, instead opting for standing in the flames quietly.

 

Holly stared blankly at Felix for a minute, and he noticed something curled in her hands.

 

“You have caused me so much trouble.” The words were spoken plainly, straightforwardly. The girl's black, soulless eyes narrowed. “It would be so  _ achingly  _ easy to kill you.”

 

“The Holly I know would never do that,” Felix protested. “She's still in there somewhere- I know it!”

 

“The Holly you know is dead. A fool compared to the greatness you see before you.” One of her hands stroked the cog, as if the greatness was not herself, but the item she sat upon.

 

Felix heaved himself up, staggering to his feet. “Holly, please,” he pleaded, even if he knew there was no convincing this possessed version of her. He just prayed he could reach some rational part of her mind. “I just want to save a friend.”

 

“A friend that no longer exists, and will never exist again,” Holly responded coolly, some anger flaring. “Don't you want to save your other 'friends’ too? Because I'll kill them. All of them. Don't think I won't. They're starfallen blind fools who can't see the lies in front of them!” Her voice raised, becoming somewhat manic. And then, under her breath, just a whisper. “Maybe that's what I'll do; Blind them, like Pete.”

 

Her focus snapped back to him. “Blinding you, killing you… It's all too easy, Felix.” She let out a breathy laugh. “I have too much power for that, don't you see? Too much knowledge, too much energy…” Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Too much… Curiosity.”

 

Felix gulped, but raised his head high in defiance, a look she seemed to despise. “Curiosity for what, exactly?”

 

“To see what it will take to make you _break,”_ Holly whispered. She raised a hand, and Felix was ready for the rune that appeared above him. He tensed for the flames or some other surprise, but he found himself shocked to see a blinding light encase his whole vision. For a moment, he wondered if she _had_ settled on blinding him, but then, a twisting pain starting from inside him that was like no other took ahold of him and he screeched, caught off guard. It felt like his organs, his bones, his _blood_ was all burning and twisting and clenching and aching and _burning_ _and…_

 

He felt himself hit the floor harshly, a reminder that the outside existed and it wasn't just the pain inside him. Something fell in front of him. A cloth? No, a shirt. A burned one. His shirt… And his magic bag too. His vision saw more things, but he couldn't identify what, as everything started to blur together, blackness tinting it's edges. His tense shoulders drooped, his head rolled, and then unconsciousness welcomed him warmly.

 

\-------

 

Holly stared at the cog in front of her, glaring furiously at it. She was angry, and with no where else to place the blame, she put it solely upon the cog. The  _ cog  _ had almost allowed her to have been hit by that damned dart! The cog fueled her energy, allowing her endless amounts of power to use runes and magic with. Yet, she noted, it also blinded her vision. Her ability to think clear.

 

Oh, looking back on it, it had oh so obviously been a trap. Mickey politely waiting there with the doll, feigning exhaustion? No way that could have happened so easily. He was in cahoots with the others, after all. He had told Alice, and from there, it spiralled downwards. Oh, that mouse would pay. Sure, she had sent his brother to the caves of the Unkbutt, where he would surely be eaten alive by man-eating spiders. And if not, Holly could deal the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit later. But that was not enough punishment.

 

Her hand twitched, tempted to run her fingers along the cog's exterior to feel its curves and the power beneath it. But she resisted. She couldn't rely completely on the cog's power. She had to be careful of her usage. Too much might erase her ability to think straight. She didn't need that, as much as she ached to just relish in the cog's power. It felt so good, after all. The rush, and the energy, and the confidence, and the  _ power,  _ oh, the power… Her whole being demanded it.

 

She would need the cog to kill those sunblazing idiots in her way and to nab the other parts to the Ink Machine once she could get out of the stardust of a barrier Alice had put up. But she would need her mind to plan accordingly. And unfortunately, the cog did not help in that regard. But she would find a way to fix that, so she could be with the cog without any of its drawbacks. Although, really, losing a  _ bit  _ of rationalization couldn't hurt too much, could it?

 

She already had some plans forming in her mind. Small ones, ones that got her former friends out of her way. In fact- her eyes flickered to an unconscious body beside her- one of her plans was already in motion. Killing would be so easy. She could get the toons she didn't care for out of the way with killing; Finley, Sammy, Xedo, Wiston, Black Hat, Red… But the others might have some use, whether it be for their species's magic like Cala, Bendy and Alice, or… Her eyes went back to the body beside her. Or because she wanted a sort of twisted vengeance. A wrathful anger swirled inside her. Her mind immediately flashed to that crack-head, Cuphead, and his brother Mugman. Weren't they so unique? Weren't they so  _ curious?  _ Wouldn't they make such great…

 

Hmm. Well, she knew what she had in mind for them.

 

A whimper emitted from the hallway near her new choice of residence. Holly paused, her eyes straying from the cog. A gray muzzle appeared from around a corner, whining and sniffing.

 

“Here, doggy, doggy,” Holly cooed. The rest of the canine walked into the room, head bowed, tail tucked in-between his legs, leg held up as he limped. She held her hand out to him, waving him closer. The wolf approached her gingerly, ears flat against his skull. He sniffed her fingers warily. He gave her fingers a light, hesitant lick. Holly eyed the bleeding wound sliced on his shoulder. One hand firmly on the cog, she touched the wound. The dire wolf growled, ears flat, but he let her work. A rune glowed brightly, and then the wound was no more than a pink scar with dried blood flecked on it.

 

The wolf perked up, turning his head to sniff the scar. Satisfied the healing was not a mere illusion, he barked happily, lunging at his savior and covering her in sloppy licks. The wolf only paused to sniff the cog, tilting his head at the strong scent of magic.

 

Holly smiled, both somehow darkly and warmly. She looked to the cog and the wolf. “My power may come from you, but I can rely on more than you.”

 

She patted the wolf's head and he yipped at her, delighted to have his alpha's praise. She ruffled the fur around his neck, eyes half-lidded with a smirk upon her face.

 

“Even a girl with endless magical power can have a loyal companion.” The dire wolf titled his head, tongue lolling out innocently. “Isn't that right, my little wolfie?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I pray I didn't make too many mistakes.
> 
> I'd appreciate feedback of any kind; critique, comment, review, just a simple "I love it!" Or "I hate it!" would suffice. Thanks for reading, and good luck and good writing~


	2. Feeling Thoughtful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Chapter Two! Not as dramatic as chapter one, I'd like to think, but it's worthwhile.
> 
> I'm still getting used to Ao3's whole "add chapter", "publication date" and whatnot. Honestly don't know if this is going to be posted at the time I'm typing it or tomorrow. Eh, whatever works!
> 
> Oh, also, I think I should mention, even if it is fairly obvious, some of the dialect and actions are taken from The Inky Mystery! I don't claim these words as my own~
> 
> This chapter takes place during Inky Mystery's Chapter 93: Being Thoughtful. It starts to diverge right before the point where Alice+ meet up with Felix and them, so I'd recommend reading that chapter up to that point first before reading this one! I'd say stop reading that chapter at around "...They got down the hall and headed further into the building. Alice smelled smoke..."

**Chapter Two: Feeling Thoughtful**

 

Opening her eyes and seeing nothing but a mound of ink beside a dead basilisk in front of her had been absolutely terrifying to Alice. Luckily, Bendy had  _ not  _ melted, relieving her and Cala of their stress for their fallen friend. Alice had sat between an unconscious demon and a wounded gorden until Mugman had appeared, guiding them all back to where he had left Boris and Black Hat. Fire had spread from half of the building, forcing them to take more precarious routes, but soon they found themselves back with Boris, equipped with a pipe, and Hat, who was now awake. Boris had momentarily been startled by Cala's new appearance, but welcomed her when the situation was explained. Alice's nerves had been on end the whole trip there, feeling like something was missing, like something was  _ wrong.  _ She just hoped they could find the others and help Holly soon.

 

Now, Alice held an unconscious Bendy, lowering him to the floor with Boris worrying beside her.

 

“Is he okay?” Boris asked anxiously.

 

“I don't know,” Alice admitted reluctantly. She worried her lip.

 

“Yes, yes,” Black Hat growled beside them. “All the warm and fuzzies of being together again, but we still need to find the girl.”

 

“Leave them alone, Hat,” Mugman sighed, glaring at the top hat wearing demon.

 

“Do we have any way of waking him up?” Alice gestured to Bendy, frowning. They all gave her slow shakes of their heads.

 

“While you work on waking the fledgling, I'll go hunt down the girl,” Hat said, malice clear in his voice. Alice furrowed her brows, glancing at Hat uncertainly. 

 

“ _ Hunt? _ ” She did not appreciate the way that sounded. Hat curled his lip at her.

 

“You heard me. She’s become far too big of a nuisance for my liking. It’s easiest just to kill her,”  Black Hat answered curtly.

 

Cala let out a small gasp, and Boris frowned uneasily. Alice scowled at the demon. “Mr. Hat, we talked about this! You promised to help. We aren’t killing Holly.”

 

“But she attacked me! I have a right to defend myself!” Hat growled at her, agitated.

 

“It’s not really her attacking you,” Alice responded, sighing. “She’s possessed.”

 

“Even more of a reason! That girl isn’t in her right of mind. So just kill her! Simple as that. I don’t understand why you’re struggling with this,” Hat stated like he was the only sane one here.

 

Alice glowered at him and said, “You aren’t killing her, Hat!”

 

Hat’s eye and monocle went black and red as his aura darkened and chilled with furious rage. “Demon law dictates th-”

 

“We’re on the Surface, and she isn’t a demon!” Alice snapped, waving her hand in a wide, aggressive manner. “ Angel law claims her safety from an attacking demon that isn’t contracted or on claimed territory.” Alice turned her back on Hat as he hissed at her. She looked down, frowning, at Bendy, who remained unconscious.

 

Hat apparently didn’t want the conversation to end. “Don’t think I will help you then. I won’t save the life or mind of that withering maggot!” Hat seethed.

 

“But you made an agreement with Bendy and Alice,” Boris protested, ears flat against his head.

 

“Then, let her see proper punishment once we are done. We save her, she comes with me,” Hat snarled at the wolf.

 

“No way,” Mugs interrupted. Hat turned his glare onto the ceramic man. “Hat, if you aren’t helping, then leave us alone.”

 

“B-But we need him, don’t we?” Boris asked fearfully. “What would we do without him?”

 

Alice sighed and glared at the stubborn demon. He glared right back without any remorse. “You know, the city might be destroyed, countless people are suffering or dying. Holly might go insane or worse!”

 

Hat snorted. “And what is any of that to me, little angel?” Well, so much for empathy. Alice curled her hands into fists, containing her irritation. Her gaze stayed on Bendy, and her lips pursed.

 

“We technically have another demon here, Mr. Hat,” Alice stated calmly. Boris’s eyes widened in alarm.

 

“But he won’t know what to do!” The wolf protested, bringing Bendy’s unconscious form closer to him.

 

Hat laughed. “That fledgling is more likely to drive the girl mad than the gear.” He sneered at Alice. She lifted her chin challengingly.

 

“We’ll see then, won’t we?” Alice replied evenly. Hat growled at her. There was a tense silence as the glaring contest continued before Boris whined.

 

“We don’t have any way of waking him, so we don’t know when he’ll regain conscious…” Boris pointed out, dropping his head.

 

“Then we’ll have to wait. It’s not like we have Holly with us either. Hopefully, he’ll be awake by the time we find her,” Alice responded. Although, a tiny part of her hoped Black Hat would cooperate by then. As much as she hated her former employer, he was more experienced than Bendy.

 

“We should try to find the others,” Mugman advised, supporting Cala beside him.

 

Boris frowned, glancing at Bendy. “What about Bendy?”

 

Alice answered, “He's small enough to carry.”

 

Boris, despite the less than pleasing situation they faced, let out a snicker. “Don't let him hear you say that.” Alice smiled in response, and she would have giggled if not for the worries running holes in her head.

 

“We can rest for a moment to catch our breaths and let Cala get her legs back,” Mugs added, his face contorted in light worry as she glanced at Cala's wound that still oozed a clear liquid.

 

Cala let out a timid smile. “It should heal soon.” She ducked her head shyly. “Do you mind running back to the room with the basilisk and getting Cuphead's jacket? I dropped it in there… The flames don't seem to have made it there… If it's not too much…”

 

Mugs beamed at her reassuringly, a light tint to his cheeks. “Sure! I don't mind. Wait here.” He sent a warning glance at Hat, as if daring him to do something when he left. Alice approached Mugs, taking his position beside Cala as he left. She leaned Cala against the wall, and the group fell into a strenuous silence with Hat scowling at them all in displeasure.

 

Alice distracted herself by staring at Cala's snake tail. Based on what's she had gathered, Cala also had a mermaid tail, and, of course, legs. She wondered how it worked, switching between the three. Was there some sort of trigger? Cala could change to her legs at will it seemed, but were her mermaid and gorgon tail the same? ...Was Cala half-mermaid, or a full gorgon? Alice almost opened her mouth to ask, but decided it might be too inquisitive, so she stayed silent.

 

Her eyes were drawn to Bendy. He was bruised, battered and bloody with some ink stains littered all over him- Alice glanced at her own ink stained arms from when she had dug into the ink pile to retrieve him- but he seemed content while asleep. Unharmed, unworried. Alice wished she could share in the blissful peace.

 

Then, she noticed him twitch, and wondered if he was waking up. He let out a quiet hiss and curled in on himself. Boris’s ears perked up hopefully, and everyone’s attention was focused back on the young demon. This was first sign of life he had given aside from breathing, after all. Boris cocked his head, moving his hand down to Bendy’s arm with a frown. Alice followed his gaze and noticed a light burn mark along his arm, just above his elbow. Not too big, not too bad. But noticeable.

 

Alice blinked. “Did he get burned in the building?” She hadn't thought so. She had made sure not to go close to any of the encroaching flames.

 

“No… It appeared, just now,” Boris said, gently running a finger over the burn, to which Bendy twitched.

 

“How did that-” Her eyes widened with realization. “The doll. Do you think Holly did something with the doll again?”

 

“I.. I think she would have thrown it into a pit of fire if that was the case,” Boris responded. “No, this looks like it just brushed against the flames?”

 

“Do you think someone else has it?” Cala asked tentatively.

 

Boris's ear twitched. “Maybe. Hopefully. We don't exactly know where the others are.”

 

“I pray they're all right…” Alice sighed, Cala nodding beside her and wringing her fingers. They fell back into a silence, watching Bendy for any signs of him awaking or gaining more doll-related injuries. Even Black Hat watched him, a curiosity in his gaze, although Alice could guess he wanted to know more about the “doll” that had previously broken all of Bendy's limbs and almost drowned and burned him to death. Alice remembered that horrific scene with a shiver. She had thought Bendy was going to… going to  _ die _ , and in such a painful way too. And she couldn't do anything but watch because, because… he was a  _ demon,  _ and she was an  _ angel _ , so she couldn't just  _ heal  _ him, even if she wanted to, even if she could, and…

 

Ugh. She just wanted to help him, help them all. Wasn't that what a good angel did? Even if it was a demon? She bit her lip.

 

Her musings were broken as Mugs burst into the clearing, startling them all onto their feet- or snake tail, in Cala's case. In Mugs's hand he held the doll, still shaped liked Bendy, and in his other hand was Cuphead's ruined jacket. He dropped Cup's jacket onto the ground near Cala.

 

“Mugs! What happened?” Boris asked, eyes trained on the doll.

 

Mugs took a breath, steadying himself. “Well, I found Xedo and Mickey. Mickey had the doll, but he dropped it trying to help Xedo. I stopped it from nearly falling into the fire.”

 

Yikes. That would have been less than ideal.

 

“Where are they now?” Alice asked, glancing behind him as if the two might appear.

 

“Trapped, cut off by the fire. They looked safe for now, so I decided to get reinforcements,” Mugs answered. Alice made sure Cala was leaned against the wall securely before walking over to Mugman.

 

“I'll help,” she replied, but her eyes strayed to Black Hat. He and Boris were the only other relatively uninjured toons. Boris would have to stay with Bendy and Cala, both because he wasn't an experienced fighter and because Alice wouldn't trust Hat to watch over Bendy and Cala alone. Would Hat come with? From the sneer on his face and the conversation from earlier still hanging over their heads, Alice guessed not. She couldn't decide if that was good or bad.

 

“Will you be fine watching over them?” Alice asked Boris. Boris nodded, holding onto his brother tighter, pipe clutched in one hand.

 

“Hey, I can hold my own,” Cala said. “I can almost go back to the legs. The venom's nearly out.”

 

Alice have her a nod and smile. “That's good.” Her eyes trained on Hat, giving him a steely glare. “Don't cause any problems.”

 

Hat growled lowly at her, rolling his eyes. “Oh, like I would with these weaklings. I'll wait until your little monster girl comes around.”

 

She would have to take that as the best answer she could get for now.

 

Mugs handed the doll to Boris, sending a pointed glare at Hat as the demon looked at it with interest and intrigue. Mugs and Alice both left the group, a tense air upon them. They made their way quickly into the burning office building, Mugs navigating for the most part. The fire was spreading, but it seemed to have left certain areas unburned thanks to the fact the dead vines hadn't been everywhere. Alice made sure her breaths were precise and short as to not inhale as much smoke.

 

Alice felt the rise of horror around her before she saw Xedo and Mickey thanks to her emotion sensing ability as an angel. Then she saw the two, on the floor above them. There was a hole burned in the middle, with the floorboards and supporting beams curving in on each other, fire blazing brightly around them.

 

Upon spotting Alice and Mugs, Mickey's eyes widened hopefully. He tugged on Xedo's arm, to which Xedo turned around and glanced down the hole and through the flames.

 

“Alice!” Xedo rasped out, before breaking into a nasty coughing fit. Uh oh, he must have inhaled a lot of smoke. That wasn't good. And were those burn marks marring his face? What had happened? And Mickey was visible now! He still seemed to be mute, unfortunately.

 

“Don't worry! We'll get you down, safe and sound,” Alice rhymed, hoping she brought some comfort to the panicked souls. She and Mugs immediately began to seek out the safest way to help them down.

 

Mugs pointed to a support beam, fallen, crooked, but not burning. A little too close to the flames for Alice's liking, but their safest bet nonetheless. Mugs worked his way up the beam, Mickey and Xedo waiting at the top to haul him up. Alice waited at the bottom.

 

Just as Mugs hopped on to the second floor, Mickey's eyes grew large and he pointed behind Alice. She turned around and, with a jolt, noticed the large feline stalking towards them. Each pawstep the tiger took flames spurted out. It bared its fangs at her, threatening to pounce.

 

A blast of blue shot past the angel, startling her. The tiger leaped out of the way, the blast hitting where it previously stood. The tiger snarled at Mugs before returning it’s attention to Alice.

 

Alice lit up some angel runes when the tiger lunged forward. It snarled as magic zapped at it. It rubbed a paw over its face, shaking the electricity off its whiskers.

 

It stared at Alice, maw half turned in a snarl. Intelligence seemed to enter its eyes and it titled its head inquisitively.

 

Alice paused, glancing at the others to make sure they were making it down okay. The tiger still waited, big nose twitching as it scented the air. Alice gave it a timid smile, reverting to what she knew best.

 

“Hello, pretty tiger! How are you  _ feline  _ today? We're not really doing the best right  _ meow _ , so I'd  _ purr _ fer if you didn't attack us?” Alice's voice went up a notch as the fire tiger stared her down. It let out a grunt, tilting its head the other way and studying her. It's gaze travelled up the beam, locking onto Xedo as Mugs helped him down. It let out a growl and moved forward, hunger in its dark eyes.

 

“Ah! No!” Alice said. The tiger turned its attention to her. “Bad kitty. They aren't food, they're friends.” The tiger stared at her, ears flicking. It glanced back at the fox and cupman again. “Nooo,” Alice repeated, drawing out the word. At least the tiger seemed to listen to her, for some reason, even if it did want to eat her friends.

 

It's nostril flared, whiskers twitching as it watched Mugman set Xedo down gently beside Alice. Alice shook her head at the tiger, and it let out a low growl, but made no move towards them. Alice looped Xedo’s unburnt arm around her shoulders, smiling warmly at the journalist.

 

“Thank you,” Xedo whispered out, chest heaving and ears drooping. Mugs climbed back up the support beam.

 

Alice turned her attention back to the tiger, watching as it tried to slyly inch closer. “Hey. No.” The tiger let out a frustrated growl, but paused again. It threw its head up and scented the air, tilting its head as if confused.

 

Xedo watched the creature through bleary eyes. “It listens to you?”

 

Alice shrugged, before pausing as Xedo winced. “A little. It still wants to eat you, though.”

 

Xedo frowned. “It was fighting Felix earlier…”

 

“Felix?” Alice said, concerned. “Where is he?”

 

Xedo didn’t respond for a moment, taking in breaths of smokey hot air that was definitely not good for him, or anyone else. “He told us he’d be behind us.” He met Alice’s worried gaze. “I guess not…” Xedo let out a sharp cough.

 

“I’m sure he’s okay. He’s Felix. And, think of it like this. The tiger wouldn’t be hungry if it had eaten Felix, would it?” Alice smiled reassuringly at the fox. Xedo gave a small nod.

 

Mugs and Mickey thudded beside them as they slid down the beam. Mugs nodded to Alice and Xedo. “Alright, let’s go.”

 

Alice stayed at the front as they maneuvered around the flames to prevent the tiger from making a snack out of one of the others. The tiger snarled at them, crooning lightly. It shifted irritatedly, embers falling around it. It approached once, twice, but seeing Alice’s scolding look and Mugs’s raised, glowing finger, it backed away. It followed them down the halls even as they twisted and turned. Sometimes, the hallways would be too small, and it would vanish only to appear at another hallway.

 

Mugs frowned at it, as it appeared in front of the door that lead outside. “We shouldn’t let it follow us back to the others.”

 

Alice nibbled on her lip for a moment, eyeing the tiger as it watched her curiously. She gingerly moved Xedo into Mugs’s and Mickey’s grasp. She approached the tiger. The tiger huffed, backing away. “Hey, kitty. There’s lots of other, um… prey around.” She winced as she said it, thinking about all the other, innocent toons running around for their lives amidst the chaos. “Do you think you could leave my friends alone?” She raised a hand to the tiger, letting it sniff her. It let out a low growl. It cocked its head at her, glancing behind her. Then, it shook its pelt and trotted away. She let out a relieved breath.

 

She and the others made their way back to Boris, Bendy, Cala and Hat. She was even more relieved to find Hat hadn’t decided to steal the doll and run.

 

Boris and Cala, who now had her legs which were hidden underneath Cuphead's jacket, both let out noises of alarm.

 

“Xedo! Are you okay?” Boris left Bendy's side to approach the fox. Now that they were momentarily out of danger, Alice took the time to properly assess the damage. The right side of his face's fur, including his ear, had been burnt completely off, revealing soft skin underneath. Skin disfigured and bubbling from burns. A patch on the right side of his neck was the same, pale and tender, along with above his right elbow. The top of his tail had minor burns as well, the fur singed off.

 

Mickey also had bruises and scars, too, but worst was his neck. It had swelled and darkened, and burned on the left side of his neck was a symbol. A rune permanently seared into his flesh, marking him. Alice wasn't familiar with the rune, but she had to guess it was to keep him mute… Or… looking at the wounds of struggle around the rune, perhaps it went deeper and affected his vocal cords…

 

“Mr. Mickey!” Boris yelped, looking between the two concerned. “You're visible again!”

 

“What happened?” Cala asked. Mickey glanced at Xedo, frowning.

 

“Neither of them can really speak…” Alice said as Mugs laid Xedo beside a tree.

 

“I can,” Xedo rasped, before breaking off into another nasty coughing fit.

 

“But not good enough,” Alice protested. “Save your stories for later, until we've all cooled down.”

 

“He'll need some water,” Cala said.

 

Boris pulled off his pack. “I should have some in here.” He bit his tongue as he dug into the bag, shuffling it's contents around. Then, he pulled out a water bottle. “It's not cold, but it'll do.”

 

Xedo took the water graciously, chugging it down until only a little was left. Then he glanced at Mickey. “Do you want some?”

 

Mickey shook his head, and then pointed to his neck.

 

“You think it'd hurt to swallow?” Mickey nodded in response to the fox's question.

 

“Does it hurt when you breath?” Alice asked. Mickey titled his hand in a 'so-so’ sign. Alice frowned, scanning their ragtag group. They were all so injured, exhausted and drained, mentally and physically. “We need a break.”

 

“We can't take a break,” Boris protested, shaking his head. “Holly's still out there. We need to stop her.”

 

“Alice is right. We can't stop Holly in these conditions,” Mugs said. “We need to gain our strength back.”

 

“I can do… some very minimal healing. Then, I think our best course of action is to head back to the house,” Alice said, ringing her hands together worriedly.

 

The others reluctantly nodded.

 

Hat let out a scoff. “Really, if you all are just going to retreat, I might as well return to my casino.”

 

Alice glared at him. “We're not retreating. And if you leave the deal's off.”

 

Hat hesitated for a moment, then rolled his eyes. “Fine. I'll stay. But if you weaklings can't handle this situation soon, I'm finding the girl and killing her myself.”

 

Alice sighed, shaking her head. “We wouldn't let you,” she murmured under her breath, but she really didn't have the energy for this right now. She turned to Xedo. “Now, I can't heal the burns, but I can try to lessen the pain, so I think that should help…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you notice any grammatical mistakes, please tell me! Sometimes I write this story during class (my teacher's let me), or when I'm not completely focused/sleep-deprived. Some mistakes slip past me!
> 
> The next chapter I'm aiming to post Monday, but it'll most likely be out on Sunday, knowing my inability to stick to a date (If there's a way to schedule a chapter posting ahead of time, do tell me!)
> 
> Thanks for reading, good luck, and good writing!


	3. The Cup and the Chicken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! I wrote half of this while distracted by my friend, so if anything seems off, do tell me! :)
> 
> This chapter replaces Chapter 95: Aftermath. Unfortunate that there's no peaceful "aftermath" this chapter ;(

**Chapter Three: The Cup and the Chicken**

 

To say Cuphead was angry would be an understatement. He was absolutely boiling with rage and vengeance, wrath filling every inch of his body.

 

He was currently marching down to the office building. He had been flown around town by some dumb, cussing  _ cat-bird  _ like he was a fish it had caught down by the river. There were feathers in his head. Feathers! How cussing ridiculous! Ooh, he wished he had killed that stupid griffin where it stood, but of course, it had to drop him after all his struggle, and just  _ fly away _ . Sunblazing coward of a lion-eagle hybrid. He didn't even get anything to shoot at and take his anger out on. How  _ irritatingly _ frustrating.

 

He was going to kill that starfallen tree witch! Murder her! Friendship be damned! Innocence be damned! That little brat of a tree witch had it coming! She deserved it for all this chaos and mayhem! She deserved it for the  _ feathers! Starfallen, sunblazing feathers! In! His! Head! _

 

A vampire hissed at him as he went. He shot at it without even sparing it a glance. The idiotic bloodsucker yelped and darted away pathetically.

 

_ ‘Yeah, that's right,’  _ Cuphead thought, practically steaming.  _ 'You better cussing run.’  _ Anything that got in his way was  _ dead. _

 

Just as the starfallen building came into view, the storm seemed to strengthen, a golden symbol flashing here and there. He heeded them no mind, seeing as Toon Town was already infested. He nearly raced into the building before stopping himself, seeing as it was pleasantly on fire, making everything extra toasty and warm. And, he could hear the voices of his so-called friends, murmuring to each other. They were in a small alcove, all bloodied up and tired looking.

 

Before he could approach them, lightning flashed in the sky, illuminating a dark shape as it flew towards him. A familiar curved beak with two beady eyes beside it flashed in front of him, sharp talons out and curling around his waist. He let out a shriek of defiance, unhappy that the damn cat-bird was back and had managed to snatch him up so quickly.

 

He could see the others in the alcove turn slightly at his shriek, eyes scanning, but seeing as the world was filled with noise and screams and thunder, they brushed it off and turned back to each other.

 

Cuphead angrily slammed his elbow into the griffin's arm, satisfied to hear it squawk at him and flap its wings. Was this even the same damned, starfallen griffin? Maybe it was it's mate, seeing as the other had taken him back to nest and tried to feed him to it's horrendous hellspawn. Who knows, and who cares. Certainly not Cuphead. He just wanted this griffin dead, decaying and on the ground.

 

He snapped his fingers, changing to his lime-green chaser bullets. The moment this dumb mammal had him over a building, he would shoot. He would shoot now if it didn't mean he would fall to his death. You know, he might just take that risk, he was so angry. It wasn't like he hadn't survived great evils before. Maybe he could just use the griffin's body as a cushion, it wouldn't be so hard to just flip the body over midair. In fact, he might just-

 

Now!

 

He let the bullet go as the cat-bird dipped over a building of some sort. The griffin cried out as the bullet slammed right into its left wing. The feathers shriveled and burned, singed by the heat. The flying beast curled it's injured wing into its body, flapping the other one frantically. It cried out as it was sent sailing down towards the building that looked to be some hotel or something. It was ruined past recognition, honestly, as it was badly twisted, turning upwards with the land. A car had slammed into the wall on one side, and several lamps and trash cans were littered around and on it.

 

The griffin kept a tight grip on Cup as they crashed onto the roof of the building. Cup grunted as wood splinters dug into his skin. The roof creaked under the sudden weight, bursting. The griffin and Cup both let out tiny noises of alarm as they were sent tumbling to the top floor, which then cracked and broke as well. The griffin whipped out both wings, desperately trying to right itself, and squawking in agony as the burned wing smacked into a jutting piece of wood that used to be a support beam.

 

Cup cursed under his breath as they were sent crashing floor through floor, random furniture and miscellaneous items following them down. At last they hit a floor that didn't break under them- Cup wondered if it was the bottom floor.

 

The griffin tumbled, still holding Cup in it's grip, rolling head over talons like a tumbleweed. Then, it let go, allowing Cuphead to roll on the ground. The griffin had swirls in its eyes, shaking it's head as it stood up wobbly. Cup grunted as he lifted himself up, ignoring the numerous bruises. He was still pissed.

 

He glared at the griffin as it tended to its wounded wing. Noticing his wrathful gaze, the griffin paused, feathers lowering. It let out a low, meek cheep. It didn’t look or act like the other griffin, the one that had tried to feed Cuphead to its young. That one had an almost cool aura, sleek feathers, a darker look, confidence in its pose, and was bigger. This one… was smaller, weaker and decidedly more submissive. He had to guess the other one was the female, and this one was it’s male companion.

 

The griffin twittered, backing away from Cup nervously. Cup continued to stare piercingly at him, really tempted to shoot him.

 

“Tsk,” Cup mumbled. “You’re not worth a bullet.”

 

He turned and began to look for an exit. Unfortunately, rather than finding a door or hole to walk through, he found a winged deer walking towards him. Cup lifted his finger, ready to shoot, but the stag continued to walk calmly towards him. He eyed the deer cautiously, scanning it’s large, shaded wings, and sharp, piercing antlers.

 

As much as he'd like to punch something, if the deer-thing was friendly, he wasn't gonna shoot it for no reason. He let out a frustrated sigh, ignoring the deer as it leaned down to sniff at his head. The griffin behind him let out an anxious cluck, backing again the wall and regarding the winged deer with suspicion. His wide black eyes flickered around the dark, damp building.

 

The deer let out a bleat, tilting it's narrow head with curiosity as it continued to scent Cup's head. Try as Cuphead might to pretend it wasn’t there, he couldn't ignore it went it dipped its head down and tried to take a sip.

 

Cuphead shoved it's head away roughly. “HEY! I AM  _ NOT  _ A DRINKING FOUNTAIN!”

 

The deer stepped backwards, raising its front legs. Again it bleated, more sharper this time.

 

Cup scowled at it. “I don’t care if you’re thirsty. There’s a storm outside, there’s rain  _ somewhere. _ ”

 

The stag rolled its head around, scanning the walls. Cuphead followed it’s gaze.

 

“Oh. No way out.” He blinked. “Wait. Why aren’t there any doors or windows?” This  _ was  _ a hotel building, wasn’t it? Aside from the hole in the… not-ceiling, one of the walls- the building was on its side- no other exits or entrances were present. Cuphead stared, bewildered. “What?”

 

The winged deer stared him down, gaze as sharp as its twisting antlers. Cup suddenly felt extremely unnerved, instinctual paranoia making him wary. The griffin let out a loud squawk, breaking Cup from his staring contest with the odd deer.

 

The griffin flapped his unburned wing wildly, running towards Cup. At first, Cup thought the griffin planned to attack him, but then he caught sight of another winged deer behind him. A doe with lighter, creamier fur, and shorter, yet somehow much more stabbier antlers. The doe’s magnificent wings flared out, dead set on chasing down the other winged creature in the room.

 

The griffin ducked behind Cuphead right as he snapped his fingers, changing to his typical peashooter shot, and firing at the doe. The doe bleated, jumping away from the bullets, being hit by one on the knee, and stumbling to the ground.

 

The griffin shreeched behind him, and he whipped around, seeing the griffin tussling with the buck deer, tangled in its antlers. Cuphead grabbed the griffin by his shoulders, yanking him away from the winged buck and firing, hitting the deer directly in the face. The buck bleated in agony, kicking out frustratedly.

 

Weren't these things herbivores?! Why were they attacking him? He hadn't done anything! Dumb deers!

 

The griffin pressed against his side, squawking fearfully with wide, beady bird eyes. The feathers of his wing tickled Cuphead's noise, making him sneeze. In that short second it took to sneeze, the doe behind him had reared and bucked him in the back.

 

Cup slammed against the floor, grunting, back aching sorely. The griffin scrambled beside him, clawing at the doe as she approached them. The male winged deer's hooves appeared above him, threatening and sharp as they soared down towards him. Cuphead startled, struggling to dip out of the way.

 

Right as the hooves nearly slammed into his eyes, the griffin pushed him out of the way. The griffin got kicked in his side, letting out an angry squawk. Cup fired at the buck in retaliation. This time it seared it's neck. The winged deer bleated once again, shaking its head as if that would rid it of the burns marring its neck and face.

 

The doe speared Cup from the side, slicing his arm. He hissed stormily, using his other hand to light a bullet towards the winged doe. The doe leaped away, the bullet nicking her ankle. The lion-eagle dragged his talons over the buck's chest, beak chattering. He fluttered his wings, turning away from his opponent and sprinting towards Cuphead.

 

Talons wrapped around Cup and he almost fired at the griffin instinctively. The griffin reared up, angling his wings the best he could, but the burned one was at an awkward angle. He jumped upwards, aiming towards the hole they had made when the crashed through. The doe leaped up as well, nipping at the griffin's hind paw. The griffin screeched, making Cup's ear drums pound. The griffin tossed Cup upward, and Cup grabbed onto the edges, heart stopping for a moment when the wooden boards creaked. Luckily, they stayed up.

 

Unluckily, the griffin didn't seem to want to fall back down towards the aggressive deers, which was understandable. The griffin curled his talon around Cup's leg, nearly tearing Cup off of the planks with his weight. The griffin curled as the doe leaped for him, wings flaring as it took flight. Cup grunted, arms shaking with all the extra weight as he struggled with pulling himself and the griffin up.

 

The griffin swatted the flying deer away by flaring his own wings, flapping rapidly. Unfortunately, it unstabled Cup. He lost his grip, slipping downwards before regaining his hold. Cuss! He'd lost all his progress. Starfallen, blistering feathered deers! IT WAS ALWAYS THE FEATHERS!

 

The other deer launched upwards, antlers angled to stab straight into the griffin. Given the griffin's somewhat weak and cowardly track record, Cup was surprised when the cat-bird let go of Cup, allowing him to climb up with less effort. The griffin landed on top of the buck, squawking furiously, using his antlers like a jungle gym. He pushed upwards from the buck, using him for elevation. He clawed up the hole, kicking the doe away. He launched forwards, startling Cup with his veracity. He nudged Cup roughly in his side, pushing him ahead.

 

Cup ran with the griffin, glancing back only when he realized no hoofsteps or wingbeats following them. No winged deers were behind them.

 

He sucked in a relieved breath, stopping. The griffin ran further before realizing Cup wasn't beside him. He broke into a trot, turning around to sit beside Cup. Cup glared at him.

 

“You know it's  _ your  _ fault those deer-birds were after us, you weird cat-bird-thing,” Cup mumbled, inspecting the wound on his arm. It was a clean cut, blood trickling down. It wasn't too bad compared to what Cup had been through before, but it still stung. Too much, honestly. Was that a weird shade mixed in with the blood?

 

The griffin titled his head at him, leaning forward to sniff at the wound. Cup swatted him away. The griffin squawked indignantly, rubbing a talon over his head like a cat. He twitched his injured wing, frowning at it. Looked like it hurt. Cup wasn't sorry for it. It was the damn birds fault for snatching him up.

 

Just as Cup started to think he was safe, a horrid screech told him otherwise. He whipped around, facing the new opponent. Or, more accurately, opponents. Three… Harpies? Was that what they were called? They were woman, beautiful and striking, pleasing to look at if it weren't for the talons they had for feet, the jutting feathery tail, and the wings they had rather than arms. Ugh. More feathers.

 

The three seemed to grin at him, fangs gleaming. The griffin jumped to his feet, glaring at the bird-women. Everything was just birds, birds, birds today wasn't it? Cup was getting sick of birds and feathers. He still had feathers in his head. Great.

 

The lead harpy with long, flowing black hair leaped at him, talons outstretched, sharp nails at the ends. Cup reached out and grabbed the harpy by its ankle, whipping it around like a ragdoll. The woman shrieked as it was slammed into a wall. Cuphead fired a bullet at the shortest harpy while the griffin tussled with the last one. The short harpy screamed as it fell, burns travelling up its chest.

 

Ha! These things were pathetically weak.

 

The griffin kicked the final harpy towards Cup and he knocked it out with a quick blow to the head. The one he had slammed into the wall staggered up, shrieking at him. The bird-women flew over to her fallen comrade, the one with the burns who was still conscious. She said something to the wounded one, the words all in bird, except, Cup noted some words sounded suspiciously close to English. He picked up words like _“hell”,_ _“torture later”, “the Devil's”_ and _“poisoned.”_ None particularly seemed like particularly good words, in Cup's opinion.

 

The black-haired harpy screeched again at Cup before picking up her burned sister and flying off. Cup sneered at her as she went. What a waste, they hadn't even put up a good fight.

 

Cup kicked the unconscious one lightly, watching it's head roll. He 'tsk'ed before continuing to walk down the sideways hallway. This place was a mess. Tables, plants and papers were littered everywhere, glass broken on the floor. Wall, technically.

 

Though, he noted the odd, heavy air about it. Something about this place screamed “Not right!”. Maybe it was the dark magic induced storm outside. Holly had turned everything upside down, the cussing tree witch. If he found her, he was going to shoot her to death. Annoying, cussing feathers…

 

He paused as he came to a door, upright. That would have been normal any other day, except they were walking on the wall, so technically, this door was sideways. The griffin didn't seem to notice anything was wrong- it probably didn't know what a door was anyway. He sniffed around the place, believing it was a dead end. When Cup opened the door, the griffin seemed thoroughly surprised.

 

He and the griffin entered the room. It was barren and empty, but the floorboards looked stable and definitely not broken like most of the rest of the hotel building was. A large symbol, twisting and swirling, was carved into the wall in front of them.

 

Cup tensed, knowing the witch and her runes, this could be her doing. Then, the symbol glowed, and out popped a gray wolf with large fangs and a scar on its shoulder. It's paw was raised confidently as if it had been walking with purpose. It paused, staring at Cup and the griffin. It stared a moment longer, before letting out a low growl. Cup was prepared to shoot at it- that would scare the dog away- but it let out three warning barks. The griffin's feathers raised, chirping in response. The wolf snapped out another bark, turning and running back into the wall, vanishing with a golden glow. The symbol died down, leaving Cup and the griffin, who was puffed up like a scared kitten, to marvel in confusion.

 

Then, the symbol lit up again. Only this time, no wolf came running out.

 

It was Holly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Next Chapter will most likely be out Wednesday, then the next Saturday. After that, it'll be on a weekly schedule. I'd appreciate any feedback on what I could do to improve this AU, writing or plot wise :)
> 
> Also, the winged deers are called perytons, they're one of my favorite mythological creatures :))
> 
> Thanks for reading, good luck and good writing!


	4. Tree Witch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter! Following Cuphead and seeing what happens to him and his griffin. Next chapter will be posted Saturday. Enjoy!

**Chapter Four: Tree Witch**

 

She was grinning like the Cheshire cat, black eyes an abyss of excitement and wrath. The cog floated beside her, and Cup noted she was not upon it like she had been in their last get-ups. Her hair was frizzy, her clothes dishevelled, and she looked awfully tense despite how she was staring down Cuphead with an almost joyful expression.

 

Cuphead immediately shot at her, and he cursed under his breath as the bullets dissipated as they hit an invisible shield around her. Her grin only seemed to widden.

 

“Can't seem to hit me, can you, Cuphead?” Her voice was mocking, teasing, and it  _ rubbed Cuphead the wrong way.  _ Oh, how he'd like to just wipe that smug smirk of her face and force it down her throat. Cussing. Tree witch.

 

He growled. “If you didn't have your starfallen shields…” She smiled triumphantly at him.

 

“Well, it's a good thing I do, isn't it?” Holly hummed, taking a step closer. Cup glared at her. Glaring at her, he noticed a small detail; a burn on her shoulder. Last he checked, hadn't he been the only one to…

 

Holly seemed to notice his gaze resting upon the burn. She frowned, displeasure running through her face. “You know, it's rude to stare at a girl's shoulders.”

 

He narrowed his eyes, meeting her gaze. “How did it feel to be shot, tree witch?”

 

The tree witch's eyes widened with surprise, a laugh startling past her lips. “ _ Tree witch?!”  _ She let a barky laugh that burned Cuphead to the bone. How he'd like to just shoot her and shut her up. She wiped a tear away from her eye. “Oh, that's rich. I mean, I've been called witch before, so I'm docking points for creativity there, but given the history behind the name  _ tree princess _ , I'd say…” She twiddled her fingers. “A solid seven.”

 

Cup glowered at her. “This isn't a game.”

 

“Oh? Isn't it?” Holly smiled wickedly at him. She ran her hand over the cog. “I've got all the power, crack-head. I'll decide the rules.” Her gaze darkened, if that was even possible. “You wouldn't argue with the game master, would you?”

 

His body instinctively tensed as the rune behind her lit up again. He expected something to jump out at him, but the tree witch turned around, waving her hand.

 

“You'll be a dear and follow, won't you, Cuphead?” Once again, that taunting,  _ mocking, infuriating tone. _

 

Holly stepped into the glow, vanishing, leaving only Cup and the griffin. The symbol remained glowing a harsh, bittersweet gold. Such a beautiful color reduced to such sinful uses.

 

This new egotistical, manianic tree princess deserved to be put down. If Hat and Alice weren't here to do their little mind thing, so be it. He was taking her down. She had caused enough trouble.

 

Despite his instincts screaming it was a trap, his mind, soul and body had already made a decision, moving purposely towards the golden rune. The griffin tugged on his pants, but he could not stop Cuphead with such feeble attempts. He pressed a hand against the runed wall, and then, in a disorienting flash, appeared in a new, unfamiliar, but equally dark room.

 

This room was far larger, with shadows blocking his view of the walls, encasing him in a dark pit. Boxes were stacked on top of each other on the left side of the room, where the floor beneath it was stone. On the right side were a few things of furniture; a dusty, old couch, a coffee table, a broken mirror with glass littering the floor, a cabinet, so on and so forth. The floor beneath the right side was wooden. This place looked like a warehouse and a typical house combined… actually, that type of wooden floor looked familiar. The ones from where he, Cala and Boris had been kept- out in the woods?

 

The rune behind him stopped glowing, the only remnant left being the carving of the rune in the stone wall.

 

A glow came from in front of him and the griffin, all the way at the other end of the shadowy building. It was Holly, riding upon the cog again, legs crossed. The wolf from before stood beside her.

 

“Welcome to my humble abode,” she said, gesturing to the room. “Do you like it? I just made it. My new wolfie helped me scour it out.”

 

Cup glared at her, and, despite knowing it wouldn't work, fired a glowing blue bullet at her.

 

She 'tsk'ed, shaking her head as the bullet once again vanished upon making contact with her runed shield. Her wolf growled. “Never learn, do you? I suppose it's a valid attempt. A worthless attempt, but valid.” She hummed, leaning back without a care in the world, her half-lidded black eyes watching him from afar. “Now, we have a game to begin, don't we?” Cup glowered at her. Holly smiled. “Don't worry, you won't die… Maybe. I still have the Scarf if you perish.”

 

Mugman? Cussing witch. She still wanted to experiment on them. Like hell Cup would let her touch his little brother!

 

He pushed down the fear that rose through him like bile, cursing himself for the weak emotion still lingering in him. Whatever the tree witch could put him through would never be as bad as Black Hat.

 

Holly gestured with her hand, and Cup swore he saw the shadows move. His eyes flickered to the movement instinctively, and in that moment, gold flashed in front of him. A fist connected with his right cheek and he let out a strangled, surprised cry. His head started ringing, thumping. His hand flew up to the new injury, a small crack in his head. He glared at Holly, who now hovered in front of him on the cog, grinning maliciously, a symbol glowing on her knuckles. He immediately chucked a punch her way, but a familiar rune lit up and she was back beside the wolf. His fist hit empty air.

 

“Coward!” Cup spat. “Cheater!”

 

Holly smiled widely at him, eyes alight with vengeful joy. She flexed her hand, the rune glowing on it dissipating. “Oh, that was much more  _ satisfying  _ than when I had slapped you.” What? When had that happened? She let out a low chuckle. “But, let’s not kid ourselves here. I could never have punched you so strongly without a ‘Strength’ rune.” She tilted her head. “I’m not your opponent for today, so lower your fists, Cup. I just needed a reason to continue calling you ‘crack-head’.”

 

Cup glowered at her, rubbing his cracked check. Starfallen, sunblazing TREE WITCH! His whole body began to shake with boiling  _ rage. _

 

Holly raised a finger, pointing at Cuphead. Her wolf looked at her, tilting his head, eyes innocent. He followed his master’s finger, eyes locking onto Cup. His ears flattened, his maw curled, fangs gleaming, eyes darkening.

 

Cup narrowed his eyes. She was sticking her little puppy-dog on him? He could kick that thing and the fight would be over.

 

The canine lunged forward, and Cup fired a shot. The dog yipped, dodging the bullet. He cowered for a minute, tail between his legs, but then he glanced back at the tree witch, and his confidence was regained. He darted forward, determined.

 

Cuphead saw a glow from behind him. He hesitated to look, knowing it was most likely another one of Holly’s traps or tricks. But, he glanced behind himself. Two snakes, shining a bright lemon-gold were slithering towards him, both about the size of his arm. He squinted his eyes at their neon color. At least they were easy to spot in this black and white world.

 

The dire wolf jumped at him, biting his arm. Cuphead swore under his breath, more annoyed than anything. He swung his arm to the right, chucking the mutt away from him. He was more concerned about the glowing snakes. He shot at them, but they twisted and turned in sync. Cuss, why did snakes have to be so hard to hit?

 

A roar alerted him to another presence, and he whipped around in time to kick a leopard in the stomach. The leopard smacked into the griffin that had been cowering off to the side. The griffin cried out as the leopard leaped up and snarled at him. The wolf barked loudly, making the griffin and leopard paused. The leopard shook its head before turning to Cuphead with a hungry gleam in her eyes. The griffin curled his wings around himself, backing away.

 

The wolf and leopard circled Cuphead, although he wasn't worried. These were pathetically weak opponents. The griffin glanced at Cup, looking like he wanted to help, talons twitching. But then he looked at Holly, fear filling his birdy gaze. He froze in his place.

 

Cup shoved the wolf away as it snapped his sharp fangs at him. The leopard lunged for his back, so he elbowed it away. Turning, his eyes caught on the golden glow of the twin snakes. They were getting closer.

 

He kicked the leopard again, and leaped over the feline. He jumped onto one of the crates, firing bullets at the two beasts approaching him. The wolf curved around his bullets, snarling, occasionally backing away fearfully before continuing to attack as Holly silently urged him on.

 

Unfortunately, as irritating as fighting a weak mutt and an overgrown kitty was, they definitely served as distractions from the slowly slithering snakes. He couldn’t count the amount of times he focused on the persistent canine and feline, only to have to run away from the impossible to hit snakes. He fired a few bullets at Holly, although, of course, no glowing blue bullets hit her, with her cussing invisible, runed barrier.

 

Kicking the wolf away, once again, he turned to yell at the tree witch, “I could kill your little pets with one bullet! What’s the cussing point of this?”

 

“The point?” Holly said, tilting her head, a finger tapping her chin, feigning confusion. “Why, there doesn’t seem to be one… Of all the creatures I could summon, why choose a dire wolf, snakes and a leopard, I wonder?”

 

Cup didn’t like the way that sounded. His gaze searched the shadows, wondering if anything was hidden amongst them. The only thing his eyes could see were the golden snakes slowly making their way towards him. Starfallen snakes. At least they didn’t have feathers.

 

“Stop playing these games, tree witch!” Cup growled, knocking the leopard away by hitting it in the throat with his fist. “Summon something worth fighting, or get your pets off me!”

 

“ _ My _ pets, huh?” She smiled, sickeningly sweet. “Are they really your biggest concern?”

 

Cup glanced around frantically. Something else had to be in here with them. What else had she summoned? Was it invisible? He could use a chaser bullet to find out. Stars! WHERE WAS IT?

 

His gaze eventually made its way back to Holly, who was smirking proudly, a cunning, knowing look in her eyes.

 

“What  _ are  _ you trying to find, crack-head?” The tree witch questioned mockingly.

 

Cuphead was seething at this point. “What did you summon?” He growled out. He didn’t have have enough patience for this. He raised a glowing finger, pointing it straight at the snarling mutt’s heart. He was going to kill her pets one by one until he found where her other monster hid.

 

“Summon? The only things I’ve summoned are the five in front of you.”

 

Five? But she had only summoned four; the mutt, the leopard, and the two snakes. There was nothing else in the room except Holly, him and the-

 

An unexpected weight slammed into his side, knocking him down off his crate and onto the ground next to the dire wolf and leopard. He fired wildly, hitting the leopard directly in the chest. The leopardess cried out in pain, doubling in on itself and crumbling to the ground, gasping for breath as the bullet burned it to death.

 

Feathers clouded his vision, falling to the ground beside him. Talons gripped his arm painfully, digging into the wound from the peryton on his arm. He sucked in a breath between his teeth, realizing how much the bleeding cut stung.

 

Cup glared at the cat-bird heatedly. He was a cussing idiot. How could he forget about the bird? Sunblazing feathers. Holly had summoned it, too. Of course it followed her every command.

 

He moved his hand in an attempt to shoot at the griffin, but fangs wound around his wrists. He cried out in alarm as he watched the golden snakes bite down, wrapping around his arms. He could feel something squirm beneath his flesh as the snakes glowed, morphing their shape until they were heavy golden chains connecting to the ground. A shiver ran up his spine at the  _ wrongness  _ of it.

 

“Ah, to see you fall so easily is such a shame,” Holly hummed, sliding off her cog and walking toward him, her shoes clicking on the tile ominously. He jerked his hand upwards to fire at her, but that familiar power he always felt didn’t rush through him. His pointed finger did not glow blue. He stared wide-eyed at his powerless finger. What? No, no, no, where did the magic go? It couldn’t just  _ vanish _ . What had the tree witch done?!

 

“But, alas, this was merely to stall myself. Give me some time to think, ya know? Figure out what I want to do to you,” she said, stopping in front of him, one hand gripping her arm behind her back, a smile on her face, and her hair falling in front of her face as she looked down at him. The cog shined behind her. Cup cursed his beating heart. “I mean, I didn’t expect another one of you to come so soon. I’m still working out the kinks with Felix. I’m thinking… Something like the wolf. Another pet, hmm?”

 

“Felix?” Cup hissed out, struggling underneath the griffin’s weight.

 

Holly’s eyes flashed and she tilted her head to the side. “Yep! He was so  _ close _ to defeating me. You should have seen the look on his face when he realized he  _ missed _ . Oh, he messed up big time.” Felix must have missed with the dart, Cup realized. Cuss. Now how were the others supposed to neutralize the tree witch?

 

The wolf walked up beside Holly while the leopard remained a corpse on the cold ground. Holly rubbed the wolf’s mane of fur, to which the wolf leaned against her hand dreamily, tongue hanging out. Holly eyed the griffin on top of Cup before focusing her attention back on Cup. Her cold black eyes sent a thrill of fear Cup despised down his spine.

 

“I really am curious about you,” Holly said, “so it's a good thing you advised I shouldn't kill you.”

 

Cup curled his lip. “Like hell I'm gonna let you experiment on me.” No way, he wasn't going through  _ that  _ again. No. He already hated the way his stomach twisted with dread at the thought of it. The rushing, horrific memories he didn't want to relive.

 

“Like you have a choice,” Holly replied darkly. Cup's heart stopped for a moment, a memory of a similar phrase, of familiar hopeless feelings, rushing forth. Holly gestured with a finger, curling it in and beckoning the griffin forward. The cat-bird leaped off of Cuphead, and he immediately surged upwards, kicking out and punching in a hope to hit  _ something.  _ The chains kept him at bay, though.

 

“Tree witch,” Cup spat out, glowering with all the furiosity he had, wishing he could just punch her starfallen smug face. Give her a bruise that matched the crack on his cheek.

 

Holly smiled at him, holding her hand out for the griffin to sniff. The griffin stared at her fingers nervously, glancing back at Cup's own that he angrily kept trying to light up. The eagle-lion inspected the floating cog, eyes wide and panicked. With a last glance at Cup, he pressed his beak against the witch's open palm.

 

Cussing cowardly cat-bird. He saw someone with more power than Cup, and he switched sides. Well, jokes on that dumb bird! If Holly didn't have that sunblazing cog, she would be so easy to  _ kill. _

 

The tree witch moved her other hand, a closed fist, towards the griffin. The griffin flinched, before grabbing the tiny item in her palm as she opened her fist. The wolf barked supportingly. The griffin held a little elongated pale seed in his beak. He flared his wings and jumped onto a crate, nearly falling due to his burned one.

 

_ ‘Cussing deserves both wings burned…’  _ Cuphead thought darkly. He watched the griffin warily for a moment before turning his attention back to Holly.

 

“What’s with the seed? Gonna plant a beanstalk?” Cup sneered.

 

Holly’s eyes glowed, an excited look entering her facial features, the same one she had worn before the whole cog possession when she had been asking him and Mugs questions in that alley. It was creepy now, unfitting for her evil persona.

 

“Oh! I discovered them recently when I was messing with the carnivorous vines. A subspecies. Acts more like a… virus or a parasite. Really fascinating, honestly, almost as mystifying as you are to me… So… I thought, why not combine both things I’m curious about? Two tests in one!” Holly clasped her hands eagerly, smiling like mad. Her wolf barked happily beside her, tail wagging, picking up on his master’s enthusiasm.

 

Cup glared at her. He wasn’t some specimen for her to pick apart. “What the cuss do mean ‘combine both things?’”

 

Holly flicked her wrist and the griffin jumped onto Cup, unbalancing him. Cup tried to push the cursed griffin off of him, but the  _ hell-forsaken chains  _ wouldn’t let him do so. The griffin dropped the seed, and it landed with a clatter into Cup’s head. Cup roared wrathfully and jerked until the griffin fell off his shoulders with a squawk. The griffin scrambled away, retreating to hid behind Holly and the wolf.

 

Cup glared daggers at the accursed tree witch. “That’s not gonna do anything to me.”  _ He  _ had control over his head, no dumb seed was going to change that fact.

 

Holly smiled deviously. “We’ll see. Why do you think it won’t? Is it the same reason no liquid spills from your head?”

 

Cup laughed. “Like I’d tell you that.”

 

“You won’t have to, I’ll find out myself,” the tree witch stated, walking closer, her wolf matching her step for step. Cup scowled at her, waiting for her to get close enough for him to kick. Just as she stopped in front of him, and he lifted his leg, something bit him in the back.

 

He let out a defiant shriek, whipping around to see two more golden snakes, sinking their fangs deep into his back. Their bodies curled around him, molding into chains and pulling him to the ground. He was forced onto his knees.  _ Cuss,  _ his back was smoldering like hell. Were the chains buried in his back?!

 

His breathing was becoming sharp and ragged from all the different kinds of excuciating pain he was experiencing; the pulsing from the chains around his wrists stopping him from using his magic, the blistering of the chains in his back, the wounds he had gained from countless different feathered ruffians, his throbbing cracked cheek, the open, bleeding slice in his arm that must be infected or poisoned or something because it shouldn’t hurt that much, and the exhaustion from running around everywhere.

 

Holly made a crooning sound like one does at a small animal or infant. “Aww, you look so tired. Do you need some rest? It’s better if you’re wide-eyed and bushy-tailed for our conversations. Don’t worry; I’ll heal you right up!” She smiled at him as he snarled. She chuckled, pulling a bottle of pills out from her pocket. “You know, you’re right about something. The cog gives me all my power. So what  _ would  _ I do in a situation where I couldn’t use it?” She opened the bottle of pills, dumping three out into her palm. “Well, I’ve already got a guard dog, and I’m sure I can train the griffin too.” She closed the bottle and stuffed it back into her pocket. “But, the best way to end a confrontation?” She kneeled down in front of him, looking him dead in the eyes with hollow, black eyes and a smile. She used her finger to lift his head up. “Make them unconscious.”

 

She used the thumb of the hand under his chin to force his mouth open. She shoved the pills in her other hand down his throat. He reacted with a choked hiss, biting down as hard as he could on her finger. She jerked her hand away, frowning and shaking her hand lightly. “And I won’t always have my runes ready and available so… I made these pills! Handy, huh?”

 

Cup tried coughing and dry heaving in an attempt to puke the pills back up. He could feel his throat begin to burn- everything was burning. Oh stars, everything was so hot. Was this hell? He felt like he was in hell.

 

“I used some rune magic to make the effects a little quicker.”

 

She rambled on about something or other, but Cup couldn’t focus. Everything was heating up, his cheeks were flushing and he was sweating. Reality started slipping from him and he  _ swore  _ he started seeing hallucinations of the worst possible things. Black Hat laughing maniacally, Mugs dying, the Devil holding their contracts, everyone at the house- the toons he had just started to consider friends… Gone…

 

But perhaps the worst thing he could have seen was happening in front of him. As his eyelids drooped and his vision started swaying with dark spots, a hand gently cupped his head, forcing him to look up at a joyfully smiling Holly, a triumphant and victorious gleam in her black eyes. “Nighty night, Cuppy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Normally I have a very wide vocabulary, but I think I used "fear(ful)" and "burn(ing/ed)" way too much, ughh ;^; Would appreciate any comments or critiques
> 
> Anyway, that you for reading, good luck and good writing!


	5. To Save or Not to Save

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of this one was written all of last night, and edited the moment I woke up (along with some of next chapter), so there might be some grammatical errors and typos. Do tell me if you see any big ones, or something that sounds weird/off!
> 
> This chapter is sort-of set-up for the next chapter, just a little bit, so it doesn't have any action, but I think it's enjoyable anyway!

**Chapter Five: To Save or Not to Save**

 

Alice carried Bendy on her back again, having offered to do so, with Boris walking beside her, worrying over his still-unconscious brother. The group, consisting of Hat, Cala, Mugs, Xedo and Mickey as well, all trudged their way through the dark streets. Monsters prowled the streets, chasing after innocent toons. They had stopped to help once or twice, but it seemed the unicorns kept mostly everything under control. Cala had expressed a concern towards the unicorns, her being a dark creature and all, so they had steered away from the pretty glittery white horses, as much as Alice wanted to greet one. Alice had a sneaking suspicion Hat held a certain disposition towards the ponies too, which she concealed a smirk towards.

 

The walk back to Dr. Oddswell's house wasn't easy by any means. Most of the landscape had been twisted and turned, curling upwards and bending backwards haphazardly. Cars, trash, and furniture had been thrown everywhere, creating obstacles unless you were that one builder toon who had built a fortress out of the wreckage.

 

Walking itself was slow and tedious, since Alice was carrying Bendy, Mugs was helping Cala stay on her feet, and Mickey was supporting Xedo. Hat growled at that once or twice, but Alice made sure to put him in his place. She was actually very hesitant to allow Black Hat into the house, but it wasn’t like she could just let him leave. He might not come back to fulfill his side of the deal, and with Bendy out cold… They didn’t even have the choice of a second option.

 

Though, Alice had their doubts they would even  _ find  _ the house. Due to the distorted landscape, they couldn’t just follow a street. Any familiar alleyways they saw were connected to unfamiliar streets. Houses that were all vaguely rememberable were lost amongst the chaos and mayhem.

 

Finally, thankfully, Boris recognized a road leading to Baker Street, and, this time around, the road  _ actually  _ led to Baker Street. They all let out cries of joy, relieved to see the familiar house, even if it was now at an awkward sideways angle since the street curved dramatically upwards. Pray to the stars above, the wild creatures seemed less active on Baker Street. One or two snakes slithered here and there, and a werewolf ran rampant, but the monsters didn’t seem to want to scale the incline anymore than they did.

 

As exhausting as the land was to climb up, the curved road was a heaven-sent gift. A large three-tailed kitsune had chased them, but stopped when faced with the uphill road, deciding there was easier prey out there. The group used fire hydrants, lamp posts and mailboxes as stepping stones to help them up the street. Luckily, when they got closer to the house, the land started to level out.

 

Panting with breath, Boris knocked on the slightly sidewards door. There was a yip from inside, the sound of someone falling and crashing, and then some grumbled yelling and curses. Hesitantly, a familiar fire-loving foxy face opened the door, a hawk with a deer head perched upon his shoulder, looking ready to strike in case a foe lurked outside the door instead of a friend.

 

Wiston’s face lit up at the sight of them. “Boris! Alice!” His face fell when he caught sight of his brother. “Xedo?!” He cried, ears falling. “Wh-what happened?!” He seemed to put the pieces together quickly, recognizing the scorching wounds. Wiston's whole demeanor went slack, and Alice could feel the horror, panic, concern and, surprisingly, guilt rush off him in waves. He jumped out of the house and ran over to his brother, enveloping in a hug, careful not to bother his wounds.

 

“Xedo! I'm s-so sorry! Are you okay?! Th-This was fire- Wasn't it? I-I'll never mess with fire ever again! Never ever! I promise!” He choked on his words, Fireball letting out a sympathetic caw, rubbing Wiston's cheek.

 

A small smile formed on Xedo's face, but he winced as he did so. “I'm… doing better than most others would be with third degree burns.” Wiston's ears fell farther, tears flowing down his fluffy cheeks. “But, that's nothing for you to feel guilty about, Wiston. You weren't the one who set the fire.”

 

_ 'Holly was,’  _ Alice thought. She summoned the dragon. She allowed the fire to spread. Alice nibbled on her lip, shifting Bendy's weight. Once they broke Holly's connection to the cog, how would she react to Xedo's burns? Mickey's muteness? The terror she inflicted upon the city? The countless injuries they might gain before they stopped her? Stars, they needed to help Holly as quick as possible. The emotional and psychological damage would be far too great if any worse were to happen. Alice couldn't bare for that to happen to her friend.

 

“I'm s-sorry, still…” Wiston sniffed, wet drops still falling from his cheeks. Black Hat watched the scene with disgust.

 

Finley Fox appeared in the doorway next, ears pricked. Sammy Scare D. Cat cowered beside him, as anxious as ever.

 

“Stars, you guys are okay.” Finley frowned. “I'm guessing Hol's still out there…” 

 

“ _ Are _ you guys okay?” Sammy asked, eyes wide.

 

Alice shrugged, shifting Bendy's weight once more. “Relatively.”

 

Finley's ears dropped. “What happened to Bendy?”

 

“We can trade stories inside,” Mugs said, hands around Cala to help her stand. Finley and Sammy helped them inside, glancing at Black Hat cautiously. Alice sent Hat a warning glance, to which he rolled his eyes.

 

Granny Gopher was there, grumbling about the overthrown furniture that had all fallen to the side, rubbing against the walls. Red, Snow White and Charming were shutting cabinets to prevent silverware from flying everywhere with Mr. Sneezy cleaning up what had already fallen and broken. Dr. Oddswell was most likely in his labs doing the same thing.

 

Granny's eyes lit up at the sight of them. “Oh! You're back. Oh dear, still no Holly, I see.” She shook her head sadly. “'Course it's not gonna be easy.” She frowned at them. “Why! You're all so injured. No, no, we've got to get you all bandaged up if you're gonna save Holly.”

 

Alice smiled at her. “Thank you, Granny.” She walked over to a couch still seated upwards. She leaned down and slid Bendy carefully onto the couch, unwinding his tail from around her arm. Boris stood by her, frowning at the unconscious demon worriedly.

 

“What happened to Bendy?” Finley asked again, Sammy tailing him, while Granny brought out bandages and water bottles from the kitchen, Red following her with a med kit. Wiston and Mickey helped Xedo sit down beside Bendy.

 

“He fought a basilisk, and then passed out, I believe,” Alice responded.

 

“Unless he looked it in the eyes, I can't think of a different reason. B-But if he did look it in the eyes, he would be… Well, erm, he wouldn't be alive. I think. Unless it's different for demons,” Cala said, casting a wary glance at Black Hat.

 

Hat snorted. “Oh, we can resist a death curse. But that fledgling's so uneducated I doubt he would know how, much less realize he could.”

 

Alice frowned, lips thinning.

 

While Red examined Xedo's wounds, putting aloe vera on and cleaning his wounds, mumbling something under her breath, Granny approached Cala. “I don't think we've met, dearie. Who might you be?”

 

Cala blushed, ducking her head. “O-Oh, I'm Cala Maria… I'm the 'giant mermaid’ the boys had to fight for the cog originally. B-But, I'm not… um, I'm not actually a mer…” Her eyes flickered nervously. Mugs laid a hand on her shoulder with a supportive smile. “...maid… I'm… I'm a gorgon.”

 

“A g-gorgon?” Sammy squeaked, tail puffing up. “Th-Those creatures that can t-turn you to stone with just one- one look? With the sc-scary snakes?”

 

Cala winced. “Yeah, those ones….” Everyone who hadn't been around Cala before averted their eyes from her own downcast stare. Alice felt sympathetic towards Cala, and a little guilty. “B-But I promise you won't turn into stone!” She raised her hands placatingly. “I- uh… I can turn it on and off!” Cala traded a scared look with Mugs, a secret hidden underneath.

 

“Cala won't hurt us,” Mugs added with confidence. Boris nodded in agreement, and Alice added her own smile to the mix.

 

“You seem like a trustworthy girl, Cala,” Granny stated, as caring and understanding as ever. Granny turned to Black Hat, frowning. “Now,  _ you,  _ Mr. Black Hat, I'm assuming? Haven't heard the kindest things about you, and your tone's done nothing to improve my impression. You best behave yourself. I don't care if you're some bigwig business-demon, you follow my rules under this roof.” She waved her cane accusingly at him.

 

Hat narrowed his eye and monocle at her, irritated at the old gopher's superior tone. But, he seemed taken aback and choose to stay quiet. Good. If he had said anything snarky to Granny, Alice would have had more than a few stern words for him. Granny took that as the best answer she could get and turned back to the others.

 

“Now, why don't you all fill us in on what's happened while Red and I take care of you?” Granny suggested, and so they did. Alice informed them of her fight with the dragon, and how Bendy fought the basilisk using the blinding light she produced to make it hard to see. Xedo explained, despite his sore throat, how they had nearly darted Holly before she crushed Mickey's neck and burned Xedo, and how she sent a fire tiger after Felix. The others explained their encounters with the creatures Holly had sent after them.

 

“I hope Felix is okay,” Sammy said, ears drooping, wringing his hands in concern.

 

“He's strong, he can handle himself,” Boris answered. “But I'm worried that Holly might have done something. She knows all those rune stuff. How dangerous can they get?”

 

“Depending on the rune? Pretty dangerous. But Holly would never study runes that guaranteed a horrible outcome, so hopefully she doesn't know about any of the more treacherous ones,” Alice replied.

 

“She read all the books in the library. She could have picked up something dangerous besides runes from them too,” Mugs added in. Alice's hope dropped.

 

“We just have to pray that nothing goes wrong for now. We'll start tracking Holly down again soon,” Alice insisted. They needed to stop Holly before anything got worse. She could have done anything by now. Just thinking about what could have happened… What was happening… Alice just couldn't let her friend do this, corrupted, possessed, or not.

 

“With your wounds?” Red said, carefully wrapping bandages around Xedo's arm. “You won't be able to track her down right now unless you plan on killing yourself.”

 

“But we have to-”

 

“No,” Red said firmly. “I know where you're coming from, and what you're getting at. But I'm a nurse, I know my work. Xedo's got the worst case of third degree burns I've ever seen, and I'm surprised he's not been flayed to death, Mickey will never speak again, his neck'll cause him discomfort for a long while, Bendy's still unconscious and we don't why or for how long, you've got scratches from that dragon all over you, and you're all exhausted beyond belief. Tell me how you sound like the perfect rescue group.”

 

Alice bowed her head, her eyes scanning Bendy's unconscious form rather than meeting the woman's steely gaze.

 

“But I'm doing fine,” Mugs protested. “I can go out and search for Felix and Cuphead at the very least.”

 

_ 'Cuphead,’  _ Alice thought. That's right. She had forgotten about him. No one talked about him in their stories. Where had he gone? Who had been the last to see him? Was he okay? She felt awful for forgetting.

 

“No,” Red repeated, a bit harsher, with a glare. “You still have those stitches. Don't try and fool me. You might think your fine and dandy now, but just wait for that adrenaline to wear off.”

 

Mugs fell silent, shifting from foot to foot. Cala squeezed his arm comfortingly. He was most likely worried about his brother.

 

“They're both fine, strong men,” Granny said. “They're capable of fighting off whatever comes their way.”

 

“Yeah…” Boris said quietly, head tipped down, staring at his brother.

 

Cup and Felix could handle themselves. That was true. But… Holly was still out there…

 

“We need to save Holly…” Alice murmured, ignoring the irritated, warning glare Red sent her way.

 

“What if…” Sammy broke off, freezing with a puffed up tail. He cleared his throat ducking his head. “What if you… Um… What if you c-can't…”

 

“No,” Wiston said, voice hoarse. Fireball let out a light bleating caw, ruffling his feathers. “We can't. We have to.”

 

“She's our friend,” Alice stated.

 

Boris nodded, face steeled with hard determination. “We'd never give up on each other. We're not gonna give up on Holly just 'cause some dumb cog possessed her.” That cog was more trouble than it was worth, ink machine piece or not.

 

Sammy looked taken aback, in an anxious way, his tail curling around his body. He averted his eyes. Finley stood beside him, frowning slightly.

 

“I know Holly's our friend, and I want to save her as much as you do. But Sam brings up a good point. How do we know we even  _ can _ save Holly?” Finley asked, brush-tail swaying agitatedly.

 

“We'll never know if we don't try,” Alice said. Her eyes glanced to Hat, who was in the corner staring at them like they were all insane lunatics for caring about their friend.

 

“Holly's such a sweet girl with a good heart. She's not the type to just go rotten. Her heart's too pure to just let it happen, evil cog or not. You'll save her, I know you will,” Granny insisted. “And if you don't believe that, then keep your negativity to yourself. Ain't no use to bring down our spirits.”

 

Finley and Sammy fell quiet, abashed. Alice's eyes drifted to Bendy in the pause of silence. Still looking lax and free from the worries of their current situation. His expression was far different from the toons in the room… And the toons outside, still running for their lives in this nightmare.

 

“Can we at least help the toons outside?” Alice question.

 

“That means you throw yourself into danger,” Red said, eyes narrowed. She hesitated. “But, I suppose once I clean your scratches and bandage them, you can help anyone in our vicinity. Just don't do anything crazy.”

 

“Can I help too?” Mugs asked.

 

Red stared at him for a moment, her gaze cold and calculating, making him squirm under it. “Yes, I suppose. Same rules apply to you.” She glanced around the room, studying the injured and the healthy. “I might go out and help as well, once I have you all bandaged.”

 

“I'll start helping outside right now,” Finley volunteered, raising his chin.

 

Red nodded. “Take Ferdinand Charming with you. He can help.”

 

Finley gave her a nod, leading Sammy with him, although Alice doubted the nervous puddle of a cat would go outside, to the kitchen to get Snow White's husband.

 

“How long until you permit us to go back after Holly?” Boris inquered, tilting his head.

 

“A day's rest, at least. For you, Alice, Mugs, Cala and Mickey. I'm not letting Xedo out of this house, even when the chaos has calmed down. He needs a hospital, honestly,” Red said, frowning. “All of you do.”

 

“A day?” Alice frowned. A day was so much time for Holly to wreak havoc. A day was enough time for Holly to plot out a plan to destroy them all… Alice might have to set a barrier over Dr. Oddswell's house to keep Holly out, just for extra protection.

 

“Yes, take it or leave it.” Red met her gaze evenly. Alice bit her lip before sighing, dipping her head.

 

“We'll wait a day. How quickly can you bandage us so we can help citizens?”

 

Red snorted. “As quick as I can. Don't rush me.”

 

“I can help with cleaning some of your wounds out. Come over here,” Granny said, gesturing. Alice moved away from beside the couch, holding her scratched up arm out to Granny, who immediately started to work.

 

“Tsk, I'm not going to wait a day here,” Black Hat growled. “I'll take my leave.”

 

“But our deal!” Xedo gasped, coughing. Red snapped at him, telling him to stay still and not strain himself.

 

“Come get me when you actually  _ have  _ the girl. I have a casino to attend to. I don't want all this chaos ruining my establishment,” Hat huffed.

 

“Fine with me. Leave.” Alice glared at the demon. “Just be ready for when we come and get you.”

 

Hat let out a low growl at Alice's tone before turning and heading towards the door, leaving. Alice's felt a tension lift off her shoulders. It was stressful having her former boss around. Although, a smaller worry leeched onto her, one where they neutralized Holly and didn't have Hat there swiftly enough, and Bendy was still out like a light so they didn't have a back-up plan. She shook it off. She needn't worry about it for now. First, she had to rest a bit. Then, she had to save some horrified citizens. After that, she could track down Holly, and this time, they would save her.

 

\-------

 

A faint light entered his vision. It was too white. It hurt his eyes. He didn't like looking at it. Or it looking at him. In this moment of consciousness, everything ached. His tail curled around his body. It was cold, too. He just wanted to sleep. His mind had a buzzing curiosity, wondering where he was, what had happened, but his body's lulling was much more efficient. So, he squeezed his eyes shut, turning his head away from the light. Without much effort, sleep drifted back to him, and the pain faded as unconsciousness replaced it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I memorized the first part of the To Be or Not To Be thing by accident, but it's totally useless because my language teacher likes the Raven. ;^;
> 
> My schedule will be changing, so everything will be posted weekly now! I'm choosing Sunday as my posting day. Hopefully, I'll stick to it, but I might post a chapter early sometimes. Hope you enjoyed reading this! Good luck and good writing~!


	6. Wake Up Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit near the end has some lines from Chapter 93: Feeling Thoughtful, while a huge chunk in the middle is taken from Chapter 94: The Hungry Tower. Seems like it's a bit out of order, but it makes sense in this AU! Also, if you want to skip over the “huge chunk” middle part I mentioned, feel free too, as it is relatively the same, although some lines have been altered and those little hints might be important. 
> 
> I believe this chapter gets a liiiiittle more graphic towards the end, so fair warning! Nevertheless, hope you enjoy!

**Chapter Six: Wake Up Call**

 

Alice was currently resting on the couch, Bendy's unconscious form laying beside her. Finley, Sammy and Sneezy had reorganized the room as best they could to make it more livable. Still, the furniture kept sliding downwards.

 

An achingly long amount of time had passed, with Alice dreading every second of it, wondering when Holly was going to attack. What she was doing. Where Felix and Cup were, and if they were okay. After they had gotten Red's say-so, Alice and Mugs had gone outside to help terrified civilians stay safe from the monsters. Boris had joined them at one point, along with Cala and Mickey. Alice had gotten injured by a falling piece of debris she hadn't been watching out for, much to Red's annoyance. But it was just a small scratch down her arm compared to the claws of the dragon. She would go back out to help once she caught her breath. Currently, Mugs, Cala, Finley, Mickey, Charming, and Red were outside helping who they could as Boris had came in with Alice. A few toons had taken residence in Dr. Oddswell's house due to injuries they had sustained. Granny, Snow White and the doctor were taking care of them they best they could.

 

With nothing else to do, Alice watched the rise and fall of Bendy's chest with his every breath, counting them in a rhythmic pattern. A knot of worry had placed itself in her stomach. The demon had still yet to awake. Was it from mere exhaustion, some side effect of growing into his larger form, or had he looked into the basilisk's eyes? Was there anything she could do? ...She could certainly try dumping cold water over his head.

 

She let out a half-hearted chuckle before her face returned to a frown. She ran her hand along his horns.

 

“Bendy?” She tried, hoping he would stir. Unfortunately, the demon remained soundly asleep. She poked his cheek, letting out a loud sigh. At least he looked fine, aside from the long, slicing wounds he had sustained and his inky stained clothes. What had he gotten the wounds from anyway? They were deep, clean cuts, so something sharp… A large beast's claws? No, the slices came in one, not pairs like a cat scratch would. A knife or a sword, maybe? He might have fought a monster that had one.

 

She carefully examined the bandages around his wounds, tracing them gently. What monsters had she seen that could have attacked Bendy? Some armored skeletons, a centaur with a large broadsword, some bird-women flying in the skies… Hmmm, nothing seemed to fit the description of his wounds… There were so many monsters outside, it would be rather hard to pinpoint which ones had attacked Bendy.

 

She paused in her tracing and pondering, her hand resting on the side of Bendy's face. His face looked so young, so innocent, so relaxed and relieved… A look she had not often seen on him. One that made him kind of….

 

Her train of thought broke off as she saw his brows crinkle, followed by a small frown on his face. Surprise masked her own face, quickly replaced but a sense of hope.

 

“Bendy?” She tried again, her thumb brushing against his cheek. Perhaps he was waking up. At the very least, he was giving her more signs of life than just laying there breathing.

 

He laid still for a couple more heartbeats, then his shoulders twitched. A quiet noise rose from him, one that got caught in his throat so Alice couldn't place what it exactly was. She bit her lip, a strand of dark hair falling in front of her face.

 

Her best guess was that he had previously been in a dreamless sleep, but now was starting to dream. That was a good sign, but not a sign that he was awaking anytime soon.

 

His tail began twitching, his tail spike flickering, and his face contorted into one of concern. Alice ignored his tail spike as it brushed up against her leg, instead choosing to lean down closer to the demon, her own face mirroring his.

 

“Bendy? Please do wake up,” Alice murmured. She had a feeling his dream wasn't going to be one of roses and daisies. Her other hand slotted itself under his shoulder, moving him so he leaned against the arm rest, more upright. Her other hand remained against his head.

 

Being this close to the unconscious demon gave her flashbacks to the sleeping spell incident, so she backed up just a little bit. Still, her worry for Bendy outweighed that small embarrassment.

 

Bendy curled into himself, tail and fingers twitching. His face just kept getting more and more fearful, further and further away from his previously content mood. His tail became more agitated, turning into a whipping motion rather than a flicking movement. Alice winced a little as his tail hit one of her scratches. She gingerly grabbed his tail, moving it in front of herself rather than letting it continue to hit the back of the couch and her side.

 

Bendy let out a small whimper-like noise, his fangs bared slightly. Alice's heart thudded in her chest, both out of concern for her friend and because of her instinctive fear of a demon's fangs. At least fangs where sort of cute on Bendy, as opposed to how petrifyingly terrifying they could be on Black Hat. She'd just focus on that rather than how scary those fangs had been when he had been bigger.

 

Another whimper escaped Bendy, followed by a light snarl.

 

“You're going to be okay,” she whispered, even if she knew he couldn't hear him. “It's just a dream.”

 

He let out a choking sound, curling deeper into himself. Alice could feel the tiny tremors from her hand on his face.

 

“Oh, I wish I could be more useful…” Alice muttered, eyes full of worry.

 

The tiny tremors changed into visible shaking, and the breaths that Alice had been counting started to speed up, becoming ragged and panicked. Alice's eyes widened, and she shifted closer to the demon. Her hand moved quicker than her mind could process it, and suddenly she was pulling Bendy into a hug. The shaking still persisted, making her own body shake, but his breathing caught for a minute, before returning, still panicked, but slower than before. The whimper that sounded beside her ear was so desperate, so disheartening, so  _ sad  _ that Alice's chest tightened with nerve-racking worry. She just wanted to make whatever he was dreaming stop and just  _ save him _ .

 

She shifted away from him, ending the hug, and stared at him. Maybe she should get some cold water and dump it over his head. That would wake him up from his nightmare, at least.

 

Bendy made a sudden twisting move, thrashing about, that Alice yelped, letting her grip on him go entirely. He coiled up, groaning and shaking.

 

Movement from the door caught Alice's eye. Boris had walked in. His face dropped into concern the moment he saw his trembling brother. He ran forward, sliding slightly on the slanted floor. He stopped beside the couch, leaning down, putting his paw on Bendy's shoulder.

 

“Bendy? Bendy! Bendy, please,” Boris whined, tail tucked between his legs. He shared a horrified look with Alice as the demon whimpered again.

 

Boris's grip tightened, and his face set with grim determination. “Bendy, wake up, it's just a bad dream. Whatever you're dreaming isn't happening. Everything's fine.”

 

“Bendy,” Alice whispered as the demon shook, his fangs biting down on his lips so hard they might bleed. “Please wake up.”

 

\-------

 

_ This isn't right. _

 

Bendy whirled around, the darkness all around him had to be making him paranoid. That voice he kept hearing- those whispers- they weren't real. The black abyss was fooling his mind, making him see shifting shadows from the corner of his eyes in a place with no light to create said shadows.

 

“Hello?” He hissed out, tail lashing agitatedly. Creepy voices.

 

_ Too young. _

 

“What the hell does that mean?” Bendy frowned, glancing around. Just more darkness. “Look, who are you? Where are you? What do you want?”

 

_ This is wrong. Yet you are here. _

 

“Huh?” Bendy backed away, swearing he saw a flicker like tree leaves swaying before it faded. “Look, buddy, I don't know what's going on. But can you get me out of this place? Whatever this place is?”

 

_ Mind link. Come see. _

 

“I’m not going anywhere with you, to wherever the cuss you want me to go. You come here.”

 

_ What you need isn't there. It's here. _

 

Bendy frowned, eyes narrowed. “What the cuss does that even mean?” He glanced around himself. “Look, I'm just gonna find my own way out. I don't think-”

 

_ You'll die. You'll kill them all. Then you'll live. _

 

Bendy froze. “What did you just say?” He growled, taking a step closer to where he could only assume the voice was. The world titled, and the darkness changed from something darker, yet darker. “Hey, what did you do!” There was no reply. Whatever had been talking to him had disappeared. When Bendy turned around, his boots splashed in barely an inch of water. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, but this new world of darkness had a form of light in the form of reflections from the water. Odd. He nearly jumped out of his skin at his reflection. There was no visible source of light, yet he could make things out vaguely.

 

“Alice? Cala?” Bendy called out. Those were the people he remembered being with last, even if his recollection was kind of fuzzy. His voice merely echoed and echoed. Oh stars. Did this place have an end? Where was he? He waded through the water, walking in a random direction. Nothing changed. He started to run. “Hello! Anyone?” Panic kept him running. Where was he? Where were the others? Did they… Did they defeat Holly? That's what they had been doing right? Yeah, he was sure he remembered the part where his friend went off the deep end with the cog. He had been fighting something before, although he couldn't quite… Serpent? Some large snake?

 

He gasped for breath but didn't stop until he was completely exhausted. How long had he been running? Did it even matter? Everything was still the same darkness. “This is what I get for listening to disembodied voices.” He groaned to himself. His heart pounded loudly in his ears, the only sound in this desolate place besides his ragged breathing. Sweat dripped off of his face, joining the water at his feet. With nothing to reflect but black, it looked like ink. A huge, inky mirror that reflected his own fear, panic and exhaustion back at him. How long had he been running? An hour, or longer? Where were the others? Had something happened?

 

Bendy panted like a dog in summer for a minute longer, staring at his reflection. Due to those damn fairy horses, he was littered with holes and slashes. Blood had dried itself onto his ruined, tattered shirt and vest while ink stained his pants, shirt and goggles. Dark shadows hung under his strained eyes, framing them in a way that made him look old and worn. He looked terrible, like he could keep over and die at any moment. “You look like a cussing mess,” Bendy muttered to himself, not expecting a response.

 

His reflection grinned back at him. “No kidding! What have you been doing to look this bedraggled?” Bendy jumped back in surprise, a suppressed shriek in his throat. His reflection didn't follow him. Instead, the copycat reflection put a hand on his hips, pulling at the destroyed shirt. “I mean, look at this! Did you lose in a fight with a tree? **”** The upside-down reflection of Bendy smirked. Bendy gaped at it. He had officially lost his mind. First talking to disembodied voices, now  _ this? _

 

The reflection tutted. “No, you'd have leaves on you if it were a tree.” He put a hand under his chin thoughtfully. Bendy opened his mouth to respond, but the other cut him off by lifting a hand. “No, no! Don't tell me! Let me guess!” He grinned. “A pit of giant snakes? No. No double punctures like fangs. A garrison of spear-wielding warriors? But they're straight holes, not spearhead wounds. Hmmm,” the strange reflection mused.

 

“Who- What are you?” Bendy questioned in a hushed whisper.

 

“Wait! I've got it! Candy cane claws!” The reflection snapped his fingers, looking at Bendy expectantly. “Right? No? A giant hedgehog then? Something with quills?”

 

Shaking his head, Bendy muttered, “Unicorns,” not quite knowing what else to do.

 

“You weren't supposed to tell me!” The reflection groaned. “You took all the fun out of it!” Then, he  _ melted  _ upwards. Bendy flinched back. The water bubbled, and suddenly, a new figure sat before him. A strange blue cat with an old, golden collar-thing with symbols, gold bands around his forepaws, long, tufted ears, and a beard. His eyes were green, and he had two feathered wings on his back. The weirdness of the creature and the sudden color hurt Bendy's eyes, making his head spin.

 

“So-sorry? Um, wha- er, who are you?” Bendy asked tentatively.

 

The cat raised a brow. “Chaos is the name, and fun is my game.”

 

Bendy blinked. Well… This certainly was… something. “Where are we?”

 

The cat hummed, smirking. “Depends on where you want to be.” He flicked his tail. Bendy blinked, again.

 

“I… was with my friends in a building. But now I'm here. I got separated. Do you know a way out of here?” Bendy inquired cautiously. It was something more than nothing, which meant he would take it.

 

“Oh sure! Head that way.” The blue cat pointed a paw to his right. Bendy gave him a hesitant nod, waving a thanks before heading out. Not two seconds later, the cat was in front of him again, giving him a confused look. “Why did you come back? It's behind you.” Bendy stared for a long second.

 

“Uh, yeah.” Bendy turned around and started again. Ten seconds later, the cat was in front of him again, laying on its belly and frowning at him. “Are you sure you want to leave? You keep coming back.”

 

And when Bendy left again the same thing happened. “Are you messing with me!” He demanded angrily.

 

The cat gasped, offended. “What? Me? No. I watch you walk off, and then turn around and come back. You seem a bit confused, young man.”

 

Bendy growled, turning and marching away. He was leaving! Aaaand, he was back. “AAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!” he shouted frustratedly.

 

“Oh, and a temper. My, my,” the cat mused. “You are rather new to all this, aren't you?”

 

Bendy glared at him. “You  _ are  _ doing something! Knock it off! I have to get back! People are relying on me.”

 

Chaos chuckled. “Oh, come now. Have some fun. Loosen up. We have all the time in the world.” He pulled a pocket watch out of nowhere. “We are moving at the speed of a thought, after all.” He laughed.

 

“Oh, stars, you're a zany,” Bendy groaned.

 

“A what?” Chaos frowned.

 

“A zany. You're a zany toon with all the zany nonsense that all zanies have,” Bendy growled. Why him? Why did he have to go through this?

 

“Oooooh, sounds like my kind of crowd,” the cat purred. “Are they unpredictable?”

 

“Always,” Bendy sighed.

 

“Exciting? Ever changing?” the cat leaned forward eagerly.

 

“Without a question,” Bendy muttered miserably.

 

“Anyone I would know?” Chaos asked, standing up and sauntering over to him.

 

Bendy deadpanned. “Ever heard of the Warners?”

 

The cat fluttered up, gasping with his paws on either side of his muzzle. “The  _ Warners?  _ I love their work! They are some of my closest followers.” The cat looked out and winked. “If you know what I mean. Ya never know when someone can come along and tell you to keep teasing the readers.” The cat briefly had an unsettled look, an ear twitching, before it vanished. Bendy blinked, looking around. Who was he talking to? Chaos turned to him. “How are they doing?”

 

“Fine. Good friends of mine,” Bendy admitted. “So you know them, huh?” Figures.

 

“And they know me. You seem familiar too. Do I know you?” Chaos asked.

 

“I'm Bendy,” he introduced himself.

 

The cat gasped again. “As in  _ the  _ Bendy?”

 

“Uh?” Bendy frowned. “You know me?”

 

“Yes!” The cat grinned. “Well, no. Well, not yet. I should soon, although something doesn't feel right. So, soon. Or not. Time doesn't really matter here.”

 

“Wait, wait, how do you know me?” Bendy asked, confused.

 

“Ooooh, it's going to be great! I'm so excited to meet you when you are here. The chaos, the energy! I'm so very excited. Me and the rest,” the cat purred.

 

“What? What rest. There are more things like you?” Bendy's head really started spinning as the cat flew around.

 

“Oh, how interesting! How very  _ interesting _ .” The cat stopped an inch from his nose. He was grinning like a mad man. “I look forward to seeing you again, Bendy. Whenever... if, that should happen.” The cat paused, frowning. “Something really does feel off.” He shook his head, grin returning. “Keep up the good work. Don't get boring.” His grin got bigger, toothier. “And watch out for that little, yellow chip.”

 

“Chip? What chip?” Bendy said, completely lost.

 

“Don't worry. You should have all the time,” Chaos replied. “Bye-bye now. See you soon. Can't have you stay here, you have so much work to do!” Chaos sighed dreamily.

 

“Wait, you haven't answered any of my questions! What chip! How do you know me! What chaos! What is going on on! Hey!” The blue cat pushed him lightly with his paw. Bendy fell backwards, but rather than landing on his back, he fell through the water, sinking like a rock. When he opened his eyes, he was dry, and staring into the first dark abyss he had been in.

 

He groaned, exasperated. He frowned at the darkness. Would the disembodied voice be back? What was he thinking? Why would he  _ want  _ to talk to a disembodied voice, anyway? Tch, he really  _ was  _ going crazy. The zanies were rubbing off on him.

 

He rubbed his eyes. Was he dreaming? This was too wacky to be real…

 

What had happened before he had… fallen asleep? Came here? He had been with Cala and Alice… He furrowed his brows as he concentrated. There was glowing, lots of glowing… From Alice. Alice was glowing. Because Bendy had requested her to, yeah, that was right. To fight something… Why would he need such blinding light to fight something? What was he fighting? Something… Snake. Big snake. A snake he couldn't look in the eyes… Because if he looked in the eyes he would die.

 

A sudden panic slammed through his body, followed by a haunting image of two vengeful glowing eyes. It incited a terrified squeak from him. The sudden horror could have ripped his body to shreds from the shear force of it.

 

Oh stars, oh stars, oh STARS. He had looked the BASILISK in it's EYES! HE WAS GONNA DIE! Those golden eyes would haunt him forever. His body began to shake, but he fought back the tremors. No, no, no… He was fine, he wasn't dead, even if he was gonna die, surely it'd be to the ink illness rather than some dead snake's glowing eyes. ...Right?

 

Terror struck him again, full force, and he gasped for breath to steady himself.

 

DEAD! That's right! The snake was dead. He… He had killed it. Something already dead couldn't kill him from beyond the grave. The basilisk couldn't harm him, it just couldn't, even if it sent waves of horror through him just thinking about it. A snake was far less scarier than the horrid ink illness.

 

As if just thinking about it summoned it, the darkness began to churn, and thick puddles of ink formed under him. The world shifted, becoming a black and white forest that crackled like it was on a TV screen.

 

Taunting, vicious golden eyes flashed in front of him again, and he jerked with panic. He let out a scream. Just eyes, just eyes… They couldn't hurt him.

 

Oh sun and moon, stars above, the trees were  _ melting _ . He was melting. Everything was melting. Everything was golden and melting and awful, and, oh my stars, clawed dead bodies. They were melting too. What the cuss. What the cuss was this.

 

He didn't want to look at those claw marks on the corpses of whom he couldn't identify the identities of. They looked too much like what his own claws could do when he was his bigger self.

 

This was a nightmare. Why couldn't he just die. The ink illness, the golden eyes, his own claws- something just kill him now! This was too much, he didn't want to look at it anymore, but he couldn't close his eyes. He couldn't look away. The strands of ink dripping down the trees, dissolving the white grass like acid- they lured him in like a sick addiction.

 

He lifted a shaking claw to his chest, watching it melt. He had felt the pain of an ink attack, but sitting here, watching his own body melt? It was horrific. Something just end him please. It was too much, and he didn't want to-

 

A sudden warmth interrupted his thoughts, abruptly shooing away the golden eyes, just for a moment. His breathing slowed down, taking in deep breaths. He hadn't even noticed his own hyperventilation. He tried to stop the shaking of his body, but it shook too much.

 

And then the golden eyes were back, mocking him, and he shrieked. He lunged forward at the eyeballs, but they moved with him. The melting of his body changed into a morphing, and suddenly he was his large form. He ignored the bodies littered at his claws, striking out at the golden eyes. He couldn't hit them. His claws just phased right through.

 

His body racked with terror, and he stumbled on his legs. He roared with anger as the golden eyes duplicated, placing themselves on every melting tree, every lifeless body.

 

Too much. Make it stop.

 

The warmth came back again, but not as strong. Still he pushed away from the eyes, and the ink, and the bodies, and any worries he may or may not have. He  _ pushed _ , as hard as he could, blocking out the terrifying scene before him. He latched onto the warmth, focusing on escaping towards it. He wanted to get away from all of this.

 

With a snarl at the glowing eyes, he forced himself awake.

 

And right into the concerned faces of Boris and Alice. Boris yelped at his thrashing.

 

“Bendy! Bendy, it's okay. You're okay, it's just a nightmare,” Boris said, tail wagging with relief, a small smile on his muzzle. Bendy panted for breath, the golden eyes still lingering with him, even if he could now say for certain that the ink and bodies were gone.

 

“Bendy? Are you okay?” Alice asked, concern in her voice. She was looking at him worriedly, brows furrowed, her dark eyes alight with care and tenderness. She had a grip on his right arm, holding him close to her while Boris had one hand on Bendy's hand and the other on his shoulder.

 

Stars. He  _ was  _ fine. Stupid… stupid, totally not-terrifying dream that would have  _ no  _ real world repercussions what-so-ever.

 

A choked whimper escaped him as the eyes flashed in front of him.

 

Boris's ears dropped. “Bendy, what's wrong?” The soft concern on his brother's face made Bendy take a breath.

 

“E-Eyes…” He gasped out.

 

Boris frowned, tilting his head, while Alice rubbed his arm. Stars, Bendy didn't like the fear scent coming from them… It wasn't helping.

 

“E-E-Eyes? You mean, from the basilisk?” A familiar voice stuttered out anxiously. Sammy was watching them with a puffy tail from nearby the couch. He looked at Bendy with horrified concern.

 

Alice let out a little gasp. “Oh, Bendy, you didn't look the basilisk in the eyes, did you?” Her hand gently caressed his side, that familiar angel warmth somewhat calming his currently on-the-fritz nerves.

 

Bendy winced. “A little bit.” The eyes flashed in front of him again, and he forced the whimper rising in his throat back down. The terror gripped him once more, his gaze flickering around the room just in case it was somehow still here with them.

 

“It's okay, Bendy,” Boris said. “It's not here.”

 

But it's  _ eyes  _ were, following and haunting him.

 

“You managed to kill it,” Alice told him, smiling kindly. That didn't matter. It didn't matter if he killed it, because it's _ eyes-  _ “Bendy?”

 

“I-I-I saw it,” he muttered, his whole body twitching as the golden eyes flashed again. “They're gold and hateful and terrifying and…”

 

“Shhh, don't focus on that,” Alice said, still rubbing his arm. It was a small comfort, that and Boris's own caring face, so Bendy tried to focus on it, he really did. Sammy let out a small noise, ears flat against his head. He seemed as scared as Bendy, and he hadn't even seen the eyes. Bendy was thankful he didn't. The cat wouldn't last a minute. Bendy didn't even know how he was.

 

His breath shook as he exhaled, the eyes flashing, harder, fiercer this time.

 

“Hat said…” Alice started, paused, and then continued when she realized Bendy's attention was on her. “Hat said demons are immune to death curses. I don't… I'm not sure how they are, but, that means you can fight it. Just ignore the eyes, alright? Can you do that for us?”

 

Bendy closes his eyes, focusing on the warmth from Alice and Boris, ignoring their fear scents- Sammy's especially. And then, like he did with the dream, he pushed the hateful golden eyes away. They were still there, faintly, but he ignored them. Demons were immune to death curses. He just had to believe in that. He just had to not think about the eyes, and he'd be fine…

 

He took a calming inhale of air. He counted for a moment and then released it. “I… I think I'm good now.”

 

Boris beamed at him, tail wagging. “See! I knew you were strong.” He grinned at him, and Bendy grinned back, his positivity contagious. Alice giggled, watching the brothers with amusement. Sammy let out a sigh of relief, although Bendy could still smell his fear scent.

 

Bendy blinked, glancing around the room. “So, what happened while I was out?”

 

Boris and Alice traded looks. Alice smiled timidly at him, releasing her hold on his arm, to which Bendy was sad to see the warmth go. “Not much. We still don't have Holly. Felix and Cup are missing. We're resting up until we can go back out to find all three of them. The others are helping toons outside.”

 

Bendy straightened himself out, his facial features becoming serious. “How can I help?”

 

\-------

 

Everything was hazy. His eyelids were heavy, his breathing lazy, and his body begged him to stay asleep. But Felix knew he had to wake up. He had drifted into this state of consciousness only to decide to continue sleeping one too many times. This time, he was waking up, and staying awake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't necessarily know how/why Chaos appeared, or whom that disembodied voice was in Inky Mystery, and whether they could have only specifically appeared in the Hungry Tower/because of the cog, buuuut I made do for this AU! If anything accidentally diverges majorly from canon here, I'll try to fix it, but I do think I should be fine :)
> 
> Still, I hope you enjoyed none the less! Next chapter I'm more excited for because it's the start of my favorite plot line. Ahh, I can't wait until Sunday to post! >< But I must. Good luck and good writing!


	7. Stray Cat Strut

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my favorite plot point's begins in this chapter! Aah, I have so much planned for this. ^^ Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter Seven: Stray Cat Strut**

 

Felix struggled to push upwards with his arms, the world still full of splotches. His vision was returning, ever slowly, adjusting to the light. The light which actually turned out to be complete darkness. He heaved himself up, feeling discomfort at the odd way his legs moved… Something felt really, really wrong. Did he twist his legs somehow?

 

He glanced behind himself, the spots of light in his vision making it hard to focus. Slowly, he noticed the odd curve of his back, the roundness of his haunches, the flicking of his tail, and…

 

Stars, he wasn't typical “Felix the Cat” anymore. He  _ was  _ a cat. He lifted a paw, inspecting it curiously. His whiskers twitched.

 

How… How was that possible? How did he turn into a cat? That rune Holly flashed that had knocked him unconscious… That could be the source. He wished he had seen the rune, he might be able to identify it.

 

He sat down, adjusting to the weirdness that sitting down was. His tail curled around his paws instinctively.

 

While examining himself, he noticed a leash hanging from a collar around his neck. He followed the leash, finding it was tied to the leg on the table he was seated on. He tugged lightly, testing how tight it was tied. The collar around his neck seem to be an old, dirty dog collar, pulled until it was firmly around his neck. He might be able to twist his head out, but he’d have to put his paws on the collar and push at the same time….

 

He attempted to do so, but his arms (legs?) just weren’t flexible that way. It hurt a little actually. Still, he kept trying, clawing at the collar and leash.

 

There was a scratching against the wood, and he jumped into attention. Standing on the opposite of the room was a griffin, one wing held closely to its side. It stared at him with wide, beady eyes. How had he missed the bird?

 

“Erm, hello?” Felix tried to say, but to his surprise, it came out as meows. He fluffed up, startled at the sound of his own mewling. The griffin tilted his head, curious and confused, and a little wary. He fluttered his wings, glancing at his wounded one with burnt, black feathers worriedly. Then he squawked, instructing Felix to stay put. Felix frowned, wondering how he could interpret the squawk to mean something.

 

As he pondered, the griffin walked out of the open-doored room, tufted tail flicking. Felix supposed he should listen to the griffin, so he waited patiently, if not cautiously. His ears flicked around, catching the slightest scuttle of noise. The world was so much noisier as a cat, and smellier. He guessed that the livestock smell along with the windy, fresh air smell was the griffin’s scent.

 

His surroundings were dim, dark, with stone walls and a wooden floor that contrasted each other. There was a couch beside him, dusty and with a pile of rocks on the right cushion. One of those dog bed pillows was on the ground across from him, feathers littered upon it. The griffin's bed, he presumed.

 

He heard the clicking of talons and paws, alerting him to the griffin entering. This time, he brought Holly with him, which he had suspected to come, and that dire wolf Felix had stabbed, which he had not expected. The cog floated menacingly behind them all.

 

Holly smiled at him while the wolf growled a warning. The griffin flinched, his eyes glancing at the cog and then back to Felix, his eyes saying “Beware.”

 

_ 'Yeah, I know, griffin. That cog is dangerous,’  _ Felix thought.

 

Holly walked towards Felix, so he stood up onto his four paws, glaring at her, tail tip swaying. The wolf followed her step for step while the griffin curled up in his bed, staring at the cog fearfully. The wolf let out a low, guttural growl, ears flattened to his skull.  _ Attack the girl _ , the wolf seemed to say,  _ and he was as good as dead _ .

 

Felix got the message and nodded to the dire wolf, glancing at the healed scar on his shoulder.

 

“Aww, no hello?” Holly said, leaning down with a villainous smile. Felix lashed his tail. He couldn’t speak! He just meowed! “Come on, just one little meow.”

 

Felix hissed.  _ ‘Stop this madness!’  _ He wanted to say. Holly smirked at him while the wolf barked at him to be politer to the girl. Felix flicked his ear, still somewhat puzzled on how he could understand the dire wolf. He guessed it had something to do with being a cat now.

 

Holly let out a laughless breath. “Alright. I suppose I should tell you I’ve got a translation rune on me, so I can understand your little mews, Mr. Cat. Go ahead and speak.”

 

Felix watched her through narrowed eyes for a moment. “Meow.”

 

Holly let out a genuine chuckle. “Ha, good one. Should have expected that.” She tilted her head, smiling. “Do tell me how you’re settling into your new body.”

 

Felix frowned at her, looking at his paws. “I’m guessing you won’t change me back.”

 

“Oh, certainly not. Even if I wanted to, it would be pretty hard.”

 

He cocked his head. “How? Isn’t this just runes?”

 

Holly waved her hand in a so-so motion. “Some runes were used, yes. But this involves more… darker, complex magic, and a little blood.”

 

Felix's ear twitched and he stepped forward a bit. “What kind of 'dark magic’?” Using blood with magic was never good, especially if it was one's own. He hoped Holly hadn't used her own blood for any ritual or something of a superstitious nature.

 

“Dark _ er _ magic, not dark magic,” she corrected. “And, do you want me to tell you so you can try and undo your transformation? Because I'll tell you now; That won't work. The magic I used, I injected into your veins. Your bloodstream. I guaranteed you can't undo it unless you make some sort of contract with a demon.” Her eyes flickered. “Like those dastardly cup-brothers, if you recall.”

 

He did, and while he was curious about that, it wasn't the focus of topic right now. “What point was there in turning me into a cat?”

 

Holly grinned. “Animals are much more cooperative than humans, I find.” She patted the wolf's head, to which he wagged his tail in response. “And therefore, so much more useful.” She scratched the canine's chin. The dire wolf let out a delighted bark.

 

Felix's ears turned backwards, frowning at the wolf. That wolf was a majestic wild animal, not some housepet for Holly to enslave and use for evil.

 

The wolf turned his attention to him and growled, flashing his fangs. Felix bowed his head, backing up submissively. He didn't want to get into a fight with the beast while being a cat tied to the table. The wolf huffed, raising his head.  _ Scared now, cat?  _ His posture seemed to boast.  _ You were much more confident with your human silver-claw. _

 

Felix was startled at how easily the words formed in his mind. So he really  _ could  _ understand animal speech now. Wow. That was fascinating, but it was something to ponder about on another day. A day where he didn't have to save an evil, possessed girl with a wolf body guard and a malicious-intended cog floating behind her. And the griffin too, he supposed.

 

He refocused his attention on Holly, who watched him and the wolf, amused. Could she understand the wolf as well, or did her translation rune only work for specifically him?

 

“What use do I have to you as a cat?” Felix asked, raising his head defiantly.

 

"I have a deal for you, Felix," Holly said, kneeling down and leaning onto the table with two elbows, resting her head on her interlocked fingers.   
  
A negotiation. He could work with that.   
  
Felix sat down, curling his tail around his paws. "What kind of deal?"   
  
"One where we both get a little bit of what we want." She smiled, eyes half-lidded. "You help me, and everyone stays alive."   
  
Felix frowned, ears flicking backwards. He didn't believe that, not for a second.   
  
Holly picked up on his disbelief. She cocked her head, black strands of hair falling to the side. "Well, everyone stays alive depending on how good you are at saving them. Look at it this way; You help me do what I need, and when those idiots come for me, you lead them down the path that keeps them out of harm's way, and out of my way. Which is probably the same way, if we're honest."   
  
Felix narrowed his eyes. "That's not a fair deal."   
  
"Oh, but it is. You're keeping your friends safe, aren't you? And I get what I want, too. I'm even sacrificing a little bit of revenge for you!"   
  
"Or I could leave, save my-  _ our- _ friends normally, and stop you," Felix said firmly, staring into her cold, black abyss of eyes.   
  
Holly smiled, sickeningly sweet. "Last time you tried to stop me, you failed. You missed by a hair. And what happened, brave adventurer? Mickey became permanently mute, and Xedo was a burned fox fillet in but a second." Her grin widened, teeth white. "Let's say you manage to leave. You try to stop me. Mistakes always happen, and you're off beat. You fail once again, and Mickey and Xedo aren't just burned and mute this time. They're dead. Along with Bendy, and Boris, and Alice, and... I needn't go on." She lifted her head, pointing her pointer fingers at him while still keeping them interlocked. "But, let's say you choose to help me. I'll have creatures roaming everywhere,” her eyes flickered to her wolf beside her, “and traps set up. But you'll know where they are, if you help me. You can steer your friends away from certain death. Most of them, if not all of them, will survive, should you make the right decision.”

 

“So I'll be playing a game with you and them.” Felix glared at her. “I'll be doing the same thing forever. Preventing them from saving you, and preventing you from killing them. A stalemate.”

 

She rested her head back down onto her hands. She shrugged. “If you want to look at it that way, go ahead. I won't stop you. But I encourage you to think about what I'm saying. You either lose this 'game’, and everyone will perish, but, hey, you won't be helping the 'evil, bad witch’.” She smirked. “Or, you accept my terms, and you have a chance.”

 

Felix's tail tip twitched. “No.”

 

Holly frowned a bit. “No? I didn't think you'd be this idiotic, Felix. I'm giving you hope that the others will live in this new world, yet you're throwing it away? You instead choose to make things harder for everyone? Make it so I can do as I please to your so-called friends?”

 

He hissed. “No, I'm saying that you aren't going to hurt anyone, Holly. I won't let you. And I'm not going to help you, either.”

 

Holly let out a bark of laughter. “Oh, how kind and noble of you! And just how are you going to get away from me, hmm? What makes you think you have the choice?”

 

He lifted his chin up boldly. “You aren't going to win, Holly. I'll make sure of it.”

 

“You say that, all determined and such, yet you have no real way of doing it. You're words are meaningless.” She cleared her throat. “I, again, suggest you rethink my proposal.”

 

“I don't need to. There's no way I'd agree to it.” Felix rose, flexing his claws, and glaring at the cog possessed girl. “I'll escape from you, Holly. I'll find the others. I'll make sure they don't die on my own terms. We'll come back for you, then. We'll stop you, Holly. We'll save you.”

 

Holly smirked at him. “You and what dart?”

 

She placed her hands on the table, pushing herself up. She turned around, leaving an open-mouthed, wide-eyed Felix standing on the table, tied to the leg of the table. Her wolf growled before following her. The griffin shuffled, wings fluttering nervously. He curled up in his bed, watching as Holly left.

 

Felix closed his mouth, staring at the wooden table. His whiskers twitched, followed by his tail slowly coiling around his legs.

 

\-------

 

Felix struggled with the collar around his neck, tugging at it. His claws weren't strong enough to rip through the thick leash, nor did he have fingers to undo the tight knot around the leg of the table. He had tried making conversation with the griffin, but he kept to himself, just watching him. To make sure Felix didn't escape, he had said. The hours ticked by. Or maybe minutes. Honestly being a cat in a dark room was sort of messing up his internal clock.

 

After the umpteenth time of pulling and tugging, be backed up and tilted his head, trying to force his head out of the collar. He messed with the buckle too, but no luck. He jerked backwards and let out a mrrow of surprise as the table disappeared from below his hind paws.

 

The leash tugged on his collar, choking him slightly, but he kept himself from falling to the ground by digging his front claws into the wood. He struggled for a moment before talons clicked and a beak picked him up by the scruff like a kitten. He was placed gently down on the table. He shook out his fur.

 

“Thank you,” he mewed out. The griffin stared at him for a moment before returning to his spot, curling up on his bed, tufted tail on his curved beak. His wing was held to his side, black feathers charred like leaves in a fire. There was a sad air about him.

 

“How did you injure your wing? Was it Holly?” Felix asked, settling down on the table.

 

The griffin cocked his head.  _ Holly? Is that what you call the magic wheel's master? _

 

It was still weird, hearing no spoken words, sometimes just a movement of the body, or a simple squawk, and full sentences were suddenly there.

 

“Yes. And the 'magic wheel’ is called a cog,” Felix explained. The griffin shivered.

 

_ That… cog is scary.  _ His beak chattered.  _ But no. The man with the powerful fingers downed me. _

 

Felix frowned. “The… man with the powerful fingers?” Did he mean Cuphead? Or Mugman?

 

The griffin kneaded the bed.  _ Yes. My mate had told me to catch him for the chicks, but… He attacked me with his fingers. I didn't know he could do that! The magic wheel's master can't do that, I don't think.  _ The griffin covered his head with his wings, cowering. He let out some short chirps.  _ I thought he would be harmless- My mate said he was prey, but the wolf says alpha people can be peculiar, persistent, cunning. _

 

“What happened to the man with the powerful fingers?” Felix inquired, leaning forward with interest.

 

The griffin started, and then paused, shaking his head.  _ The wolf says I shouldn't 'bark’ about it. That his Alpha wouldn't heal me if I chattered to the cat. _

 

A growl emitted from outside the doorway, and in prowled the dire wolf.  _ Alpha would Heal you like she did me if you were more loyal. _

 

The griffin bowed his head, not looking the wolf in the eyes. The wolf huffed, turning his attention to Felix. He approached the table, lips pulled back in a snarl.  _ You. _

 

Felix flicked his ears. “I apologize for the stab wound, but you were chasing after a friend of mine.”

 

The wolf growled, getting in his face. He might be bigger than Felix now, but Felix wasn't scared.

 

_ Your silver-claw can't save you now. If my Alpha had not denied me the right to tear you to pieces, you would be dead. Be grateful towards her.  _ The wolf snarled, tail standing erect. His hot breath made Felix's whiskers twitch.

 

“I'm grateful that she did deny you that right. But, she and I are still on opposing sides. I want to save her.” He frowned. “If you want to serve her, it's in your best interest to help me save her. Trust me, she'd be grateful you did so.”

 

_ Silence!  _ The wolf snapped, fangs chomping down on Felix's whiskers. He yelped, backing away, startled. His little cat heart was beating rapidly. Okay, that was much more terrifying as a small cat. 

 

“Dire wolf!” They heard Holly's voice call in the distance. “C'mon, we're going hunting, puppy!”

 

The wolf perked up at the word 'hunting’, letting out a pleased yap. He turned back fo Felix, mood changing quickly as he bared his teeth.  _ Know your place in the rankings, cat.  _ He turned and trotted away, barking happily until his barks faded away.

 

Felix and the griffin traded anxious glances, before they both settled down in their respective “beds”. More like their prisons, if Felix thought about it. He dropped his head onto the cold table, sighing. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander.

 

**Bonus Scene: Dire's Meal**

 

The dire wolf stalked his prey alone in his new territory. He was quick to adjust to the lone wolf hunting style, no longer depending on his packmates to be beside him. His prey was such an easy kill. A young bunny pup who had strayed too far from her pack. She was as alone as him on these dark pathways he had dubbed the Black River, having heard a passing puffball squeak about it before he had found his new leader. Her tiny bunny noise twitched, but she was no wild rabbit, she knew no instinct. She knew not the smells of danger, and did not know how to hide without her parent bunnies instructing her so. Even as twisted creatures lurked along the alpha people's dens, she could not see them with such useless eyes.

 

He lurched forward, killing the bunny pup in one swift chomp of his jaws, giving her a sharp shake for good measure. Her squeak cut off quickly, which was good as it meant she would not attract competition. But her blood would soon be smelt by other predators, so he must eat quickly.

 

He thanked his new Alpha for allowing him to hunt. His new Alpha had been providing him with odd pellets that smelled of unnatural meat and plants. He had eaten them, for it was rude to deny his Alpha's blessing, but they had not tasted good.

 

Soon, though, he would return to his Alpha's side, as she had given him the order to protect her at all costs, and he would not disobey or disappoint. Still, it was good to stretch his muscles. The thrill of the hunt kept his instincts sharp.

 

He had learned that the creatures his Alpha had brought forth to this world would not attack him like they previously had before he was in Alpha's pack. Alpha was good in that way. That, and she could Heal far better than any tongue. His new Alpha was nothing like his old leader and packmates, but he learned to adapt, for to adapt is to survive. His Alpha held all the power around here, and he was happy to serve at her side as her trusted guardian.

 

He devoured the bunny pup in four swift, clean bites, wagging his tail at the delicious taste of fresh, warm blood. This bunny pup was healthy and her meat would keep him healthy in return. Once again, he prayed to his Alpha, for without her ability to Heal, he would not have been strong enough to catch such a healthy prey.

 

The dire wolf sat back on his haunches. He dipped his head down to the bunny pup's carcass respectfully, thanking it for feeding him. Then, he stood up, scented the air, and began to walk down the Black River, for he smelt the scent of one of the enemies his Alpha had told him to warn her about.

 

And warn her, he will, for he did not disobey his Alpha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one of my favorite things to do is listen to music and decide if it's a theme song for a character, and i was listening to Dog Teeth by Nicole Dollanganger, and it just fit (future) Felix so well for this AU, so check it out if ya wanna know what happens to our cat adventurer in the future ^^
> 
> Thank you for reading, stay tuned next Sunday for more, and good luck and good writing!


	8. Divide and Conquer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No bunny deaths this chapter! Well, none that we know of... Hmm... I think I might wright a bonus scene on Oswald, just so it's clear what's happened to him since it'll never be directly stated main story...
> 
> Well, I hope you enjoy this new chapter! Boy, does Bendy have the worst of luck!

**Chapter Eight: Divide and Conquer**

 

Bendy lashed his tail, waiting beside the door as everyone else got ready. They were going out again to search for Holly. It'd be better to defeat her first and then look for Felix and Cuphead. Bendy trusted they could handle themselves, even if he worried for his idol's well-being. His wounds stung and his muscles ached, but he was determined to save Holly this time. Alice, Boris, Mugman, and Finley would be going with him. Everyone else was too injured or exhausted, although Red had argued that those leaving were also wounded past what she found acceptable. Still, she let them go with the promise they wouldn't do anything too ridiculous and reckless.

 

Bendy and Sammy had argued for Finley to stay, but the fox insisted he come, putting forth a valid argument that they were down two professional fighters and that Mickey and Xedo couldn't help due to injuries either. They needed more support than just a four toon team, even if one was an angel, another a demon, and one of them a cupman with magical finger guns.

 

Waiting to leave the house was painstaking. The hours had ticked by, having been instructed to wait a day by Red. He was lucky to have woken up at the halfway point of that. Still, sitting and doing nothing, knowing Holly was still out there, knowing creatures ran rampant outside, knowing Felix and Cup could very well be in danger, was the bane of his existence. Boris and Alice had kept a close eye on him, making sure he didn't just bust down the door and try to save Holly himself.

 

He was no fool. Well, he wasn't a fool  _ most  _ of the time. He knew he couldn't face Holly alone. Every step he took he winced, limping. Those damned glitter ponies had left him with more than one severe slice down his sides. He was littered in holes. When questioned, he either answered that a horned creature had attacked him or a demon-hunting beast had. He wasn't lying, but he wasn't about to admit that he had been beaten by little girl's dream horses. He was pretty sure Alice and Cala knew, much to his chagrin. And Boris probably had a good guess.

 

It didn't help that Red kept catching him wincing from his wounds all the time, muttering under her breath that he should be at a hospital. Thankfully the carnage outside wouldn't allow that. Not that he didn't want to visit a hospital afterwards and get nursed back to help by a pretty dame. He had been forced to rest multiple times, not just by Red, but by the doctor and Granny, and Boris, and Alice, and even Sammy.

 

He shifted beside the door, impatient. His hand went into his pocket, tightening around the blow dart. They had all been equipped with one this time around. At least  _ one  _ of them had to make its mark, right? If they didn't, their only other option was to use brute force to knock Holly unconscious. He didn't want to hurt his friend anymore than he had to… Even if she had injured everybody, burned half of Xedo's face off and made Mickey mute. It was all the cog's fault anyway. Holly had no control over herself right now.

 

His eyes scanned over the crowd of people bustling around from room to room. Alice had woken up half an hour ago since they had all been taken sleeping shifts. Bendy doubted anyone got a good night's rest, but they probably had a better one than Bendy's nap had been. He pushed the flashing golden eyes away again, insistent on ignoring them. He'd had nightmares before. He could handle the unsettling dream and the cursed eyes. He was more embarrassed over the fact his little brother, Alice, and Sammy had been there to witness his struggle. Alice, especially. Although, he supposed he should thank her since he was pretty certain it was her angelic warmth that had helped him concentrate and get out of that nightmare.

 

Bendy searched for the familiar puffball amongst the crowd. It made him squirm with embarrassment at the thought, but he'd rather have Snowball along in case any sparkly fairy horses showed up. He spotted the dandehog drifting from Alice's shoulder up onto the rim of Mugs's head, squeaking as she flew. She caught Bendy's gaze on her. She twitched her ears before she leaped into the air, drifting over to the demon. She landed on his head and chattered.

 

“Meep, meep!” She said. Bendy wasn't exactly sure if it was more of a scolding tone or a questioning tone, so he just mumbled under his breath at the dandelion hedgehog.

 

“Yeah, yeah…”

 

Snowball huffed a bit before curling up between his horns. Bendy found it a small comfort to have the creature close to him. The puffball had saved his life, after all. And she was cute.

 

He frowned a bit, thinking about how the dandehog had been created by Holly. The two were close.

 

“You must be worried, huh?” He asked quietly, staring upwards even if he couldn't exactly see the white ball of fluff.

 

Snowball poked her nose over his head, dipping her head down to meet his gaze. For a moment, her nose just twitched, then her ears dropped before she looked away sadly.

 

Right. That's it. If Bendy had any slight objections at saving Holly, they were all gone now. If it would make this tiny, demon-saving floating ball of dandelion puff even just a little bit happier, he would do it. The poor thing looked so dejected and hopeless. 

 

“And you're sure you'll avoid all the dangers and just go for Holly?” Red said, sternly glaring at the group.

 

“Yes, yes, we promise,” Alice replied.

 

Red narrowed her eyes. “ _ And  _ look out for falling beams of wood?”

 

Alice grinned sheepishly. “I will.”

 

Boris, Mugman and Finley added their promises to the mix. Red turned to Bendy.

 

He raised his hands placatingly. “I'll steer clear of monsters.”  _ 'Unicorns especially.’ _

 

Red huffed, her hands crossed. She shook her head lightly. “You all are going to get yourselves injured anyway, aren't you?”

 

“We'll try not to!” Boris said.

 

“I know  _ you'll _ try.” She sighed, rubbing her face with her hands. “Just go, will you? The quicker you do this the better. It's a nightmare out there.” Red glanced outside the window, lips pursed. A witch flew past, cackling.

 

Alice had put up another barrier around the house, protecting them from harm. Bendy had worried that keeping that barrier and the one keeping Holly in Toon Town would be exhausting for her, but she insisted she was fine. She didn't look too drained, so Bendy didn't push, but he would keep an eye on her just in case.

 

“Good luck,” Sammy stammered out, nervously wringing his tail. Finley smiled a toothy grin at him.

 

“With me on the team, they won't need it.”

 

“Yeah, right.” Bendy smirked. “You'll get scared of the monsters right away and come running back.”

 

Finley sent a friendly glare his way. “I think you've got the wrong toon. That'll be you.”

 

Before their banter could continue further, Mugman interrupted, “Can we get going? I don't want to waste any more time.” He fidgeted nervously, and Bendy got the impression he was worried for his brother.

 

Bendy nodded, turning to the door. “Right, let's go.”

 

Alice stopped him, pointing at the fuzzball in-between his horns. “Are you sure it's a good idea to bring Snowball with you?”

 

Bendy hesitated for a moment. He couldn't just say that he needed Snowball to keep those starfallen glitter horses from slicing and dicing him. He shrugged, trying to look as indifferent as possible and not as if he totally needed the help of a flying dandelion hedgehog. “Snow decided to rest on my head. I think she wants to come. Besides, Holly's her creator, right? I think she'd want to be there when we save Hol.”

 

Alice looked skeptical, but then Snowball let out two firm meeps, staring confidently at Alice. Stars, was the puffball agreeing with him?

 

Alice relaxed. “Okay. Just make sure she doesn't get hurt. Holly would never forgive herself if Snowball got hurt during this catastrophe.”

 

Cuss, Bendy hadn't thought about that. He'd have to make extra sure the dandehog stayed safe.

 

With that out of the way, the group finally left Dr. Oddswell's house, a few more 'good luck's ringing from the others.

 

The outside world had really gone downhill. Bendy meant that both figuratively and literally. The terrain had become more warper overnight- although, the everlasting storm overhead prevented almost all sunlight from shining down, making it hard to tell when night ended and day started. The storm itself was chaos, with patches of the clouds raining hard downpours of hail while other places had not so much as a light drizzle of rain dropped. They were lucky enough to be in one of the barren patches.

 

Bendy could see monsters of all kinds zipping around. An overgrown arachnid had expanded its web from the park to the beginning of a neighborhood, it's long, spindly legs leaving puncture wounds in the roofs of houses. A gang of odd bird-women flew in the sky, one of their sisters lagging behind. A giant bull was currently bulldozing through houses. The list could go on and on.

 

The demon tensed as he saw unicorns trotting around at the bottom of Baker Street, herding some toons away from a gargoyle that laid a corpse on the ground. Oh stars, Bendy hoped that corpse wouldn't be  _ him  _ soon.

 

He gulped quietly as the others began descending down the incline that was now Baker Street, using sideways fire hydrants to their advantage. He prayed those sparkling ponies would be gone by the time he reached the bottom. He followed the others down, nearly tumbling as the wounds he had sustained from the other unicorns he encountered made him wince in pain.

 

They were following Alice as she had used her magic-sensing map to pinpoint where Holly was. She had tracked her down to the place in the woods where they had previously found Boris, Cup and Cala. The only problem was she was in the middle of a huge magic spike. That was a tell-tale sign for disaster. Then again, all of Toon Town was a dangerous disaster. They just had to be prepared to face the worst. Bendy prayed the worst was not a herd of unicorns with extra long stabby horns and a lust for demon blood.

 

As the group reached the bottom of the steep hill, Bendy felt his heart hammering in his chest. Most of the dastardly girls’ dream horses had guided the innocent toons away, but two unicorns remained patrolling the area.

 

_ ‘Please don’t let them see me, please don’t let them see me…’  _ His eyes never left the white ponies as they trotted around with their sharp cloven hooves. He had been so focused on watching the unicorns he nearly jumped out of his skin as Alice stepped into stride beside him, eying the unicorns as well, a bit of interest in her eyes. Her gaze flickered to him for a second before she cleared her throat, catching the attention of the others.

 

“Why don’t we go around them? I’d rather the unicorns not be distracted by us. They’re doing a wonderful job keeping all the civilians safe,” Alice suggested to the group. Boris nodded in agreement with a quick glance at the glitter ponies and then Bendy. Finley tilted his head a bit with a frown, but shrugged, saying whatever worked for him, while Mugman blinked but complied.

 

Alice sent a warm, small smile towards Bendy before walking away.

 

Bendy’s face burned.

 

Was he really that obvious? Wasn’t  _ his  _ fault the starfallen unicorns were dead set on slaughtering him.

 

Snowball meeped, patting his head comfortingly. With a quiet grumble and a relieved breath, he followed the group as they navigated around the unicorns. Boris fell into step beside him.

 

“You know, you can just say the unicorns are the ones who attacked you,” Boris murmured to him, a slightly amused smile on his face.

 

Bendy huffed, crossing his arms. “Yeah, yeah…” It was  _ embarrassing.  _ He couldn’t just say he got beat up by the glittering, shiny ponies from little girls’ dreams and had to be saved by a tiny flying dandelion puffball. Cup and Finley would laugh at him for  _ days! _ No way he’d ever get to live that down.

 

His mood faded away as he continued to follow Alice, his eyes scanning the destruction left in Holly's wake. Upside down buildings- most the homes of innocent toons- lined the roads, dead, crumpled vines littered the streets, shining eyes peered from the shadowy alleyways, a vicious storm raged above, and the howling of wolves and screams of victims filled the air, both distant and close. The dreamland horses might be a nightmare to him, but the horrors around him may very well be the death of others. Stars, they had already wasted so much time. They needed to save Holly  _ now. _

 

Making only one detour to help a struggling old lady who was fending off snakes to protect some school children, the gang finally made it to their destination- the edge of the forest. But it wasn't a forest anymore. Denting the land below it, a giant stone building, practically a castle, had been thrown atop it. All the windows had dark pits inside them, nothing but shadows, and most were boarded up. One door resided at the top of the building, opening to fresh air and certain death. The other door was magnificent, large, with emblems and designs so intricate one might never be able to find where a single line started and ended. The door itself was wooden, contrasting against the barren, gray stone.

 

A large eagle seated itself at the top of the roof, talons curling into the stone and scarring it with rough claw marks. It gazed down at the group with large, black eyes. Bendy expected a sudden shrieking to erupt from it, or for it to strike upon them as invaders. But, it ruffled its wings and stretched its wings high. In the next moment, it was gone, lost in the clouds and darkness of the storm, a rumbling caw signifying it had dove deeper into the chaos the city now was.

 

After a tense moment, Finley cleared his throat and spoke, “So… We go in through the doors?”

 

Boris tilted his head, frowning. “I guess. The map said she was in the middle of a huge magic spike. She must be inside.”

 

Bendy's eyes strayed to the map Alice had pulled out in front of her. He didn't know the difference between all the moving, growing markers, but he could guess that the big one moving away from the huge blotch was the eagle, while the huge blotch itself was the very big building in front of him. The fact the building had so much magic was alarming, to say the least. Not to mention the tiny dots moving around inside it.

 

Alice nibbled on her lip, brows furrowing. “We might have a problem.”

 

Bendy blinked. “What would that be?” They had a lot of problems already. Piling on more only heightened Bendy's high level of stress.

 

“Holly's marker- the  _ cog's  _ marker- it's… Well it vanished. Right now. The moment we started talking.” Alice turned her worried dark eyes to them.

 

“Uh oh,” Mugman said, fiddling with his scarf. “Do you know where it… she might have gone?”

 

Alice slowly shook her head. “She could honestly be anywhere by now. It's not the first time she's teleported herself away. She did so when Mickey, Felix and I first encountered her.”

 

“Well, how did she know we were here? She hasn't seen us yet. Why would she disappear without reason?” Finley questioned, brush flicking irritatedly.

 

Alice shrugged helplessly. “It's not impossible something alerted her to us- that eagle could have. That large cockroach we saw a while back could have. That wolf prowling the streets could have. Or she could have a tracker on us.”

 

“Anything's possible, unfortunately,” Boris murmured, ears drooping.

 

Bendy's tail lashed agitatedly. “Well we can't just give up and turn around again. We've come this far. Might as well investigate this starfallen place for  _ something _ .  _ Anything. _ ”

 

“Red told us not to get into any unnecessary conflict. Maybe we should wait for something to pop up on the magic-sensing map instead,” Mugs advised with a raised finger. Boris nodded in agreement while Alice remained conflicted, biting her lip and shifting on her feet.

 

Bendy frowned. He didn't really want to break his promise to the nurse but… He needed to stop Holly! He needed to save his friend! He needed to end this chaos!

 

“Nothing's gonna pop up on that map! Not for a while. We've gotta take matters into our own hands.  _ Something  _ will be in that building!” He cried out, a bit desperately.

 

“We aren't just gonna turn back around. I won't. Did you not see all the monsters roaming Toon Town? No way I'm just gonna sit back and let that happen. I'm going into that building, one way or another,” Finley stated, chin held high, defiance in his eye.

 

“We aren't saying we'll sit back and do nothing. But we can't just run into some magically spawned building blindly,” Boris argued.

 

“So we're just gonna walk through some monster-infected streets instead?” Finley snapped back.

 

“We can handle ourselves against the monsters,” Mugs stated.

 

“And we can handle ourselves in some building,” Finley growled, bushy tail twitching. He crossed his arms over his chest. Mugs frowned, hesitant.

 

“...We can use the map to avoid the smaller creatures inside,” Alice piped up, folding a corner of the paper.

 

They all glanced at each other, eyes silently conveying most of their arguments and agreements. Boris sighed, bowing his head.

 

“We’re going in there no matter what I say, aren't we?”

 

Bendy smiled apologetically. “Sorry, bro.”

 

Mugman approached the door, placing his hand on the handle.

 

A meep erupted beside Bendy's ear, and he nearly leapt out of his skin. Snowball scampered onto his shoulder, nose twitching. Her body puffed up and she leaped, flying over to Mugs. She seated herself on the rim of his head. She meeped a few times, ears against her head and her eyes round as she stared at the door.

 

Mugs gave her a cautious glance, but she provided no more protest aside from the rising of her bristles like how a cat's fur raised when threatened.

 

Mugs opened the door.

 

At first, it seemed like a generally normal entrance, albeit a bit shrouded in shadows. A carpet was laid on the ground, leading to stairs with many doors branching off on the sides. A shriveled potted plant hid in a corner.

 

Then, like a trap had been set off, gold flashed, blinding them all- ‘ _ We all really will be going in blind,’  _ he thought briefly. And then, emerging from the gold came a deer with a startled ‘caught in the headlights’ stare. Another followed from a different patch of golden symbols behind it.  _ ‘Runes _ ,’ Bendy realized,  _ ‘Holly's runes _ .’

 

The deer gazed around, bleating with confusion. The larger one in front panicked, kicking its legs out. The deer jumped forward, and Mugman leaped out of the way as it came scrambling outside. Snowball held her grip on the cupman's head, squeaking.

 

As two deer exited the stone building, the door slammed shut behind them, only making them more startled. The leaner, more eloquent one nearly trampled Bendy as he dipped out of the way.

 

More golden runes flashed to the right of them. Out appeared three more deer, and Bendy noted the sharp antlers and the flaring, feathery wings. The deer stumbled around, clearly disoriented, but upon the two groups seeing each other, they bleated happily, one nuzzling the other.

 

Snowball meeped twice, catching the attention of the herd. The deer focused on the puffball for a moment, but it seemed Snowball didn’t have a way with deers like she did unicorns, because they cut her off with an angry bleat. The largest one- the stag- thrusted himself forward, antlers nearly piercing Boris. Bendy managed to pull him out of the way, the animal flying past, wings beating.

 

The others all dodged away as the rest of the herd followed suit. Snowball went flying into the air, little feet panicking. Alice reached into the air and snatched the dandehog the same moment she jumped onto a rock to avoid the elegant doe's piercing antlers.

 

Another pair of runes lit up behind them, and this time a large tiger and a frustrated griffin with cool-shaded, sleek feathers popped out. The griffin cried out angrily, turning around, her talons clicking on the stone pathway. Bendy recognized it as the cat-bird that had snatched Cuphead. The tiger was familiar to him as well, this time from the descriptions he had read in Felix the Cat's books. It was a fire tiger. The tiger glanced around, ears flicking, a low growl building in its throat.

 

The griffin squawked loudly, huge, magnificent wings flaring. She lifted into the air and lunged for Finley. The fox dropped to the ground and rolled away. The griffin collided with a winged deer, allowing Finley some time to get away. Meanwhile, the fire tiger seemed more interested in the winged deer. It roared and pounced on the one attacking Alice. It batted the doe away with a paw, blood littered on its fangs. The deer cried out, a gash on her neck bleeding profusely. The rest of the herd turned to protect their fallen comrade, angrily stomping and flaring their wings. The youngest deer attempted to help the doe up while the others attacked the fire tiger.

 

Bendy would have thought this a good time to run away from the creatures as they turned on each other, but one of the winged deer broke off from the herd, abruptly veering around and charging. Finley, having been catching his breath, was caught off guard. He yelped and grabbed the antlers of the lowered head of the deer. He pushed upwards to keep his chest from being impaled by the sharp antlers.

 

The deer tossed it's head wildly, continuing to run. Finley held on tight, eyes wide and white. The deer spread it's wings, preparing to take flight. In a swift, decisive move, Finley reached into his pocket, unbalancing himself and nearly poking himself on the antlers, and pulled out the dart. He brought it to his mouth and shot, right as the deer leaped upwards into the air, wings spread, ready to fly.

 

It bleated, kicking out it's legs, before it tumbled to the ground, eyes rolling backwards and tongue lolling out. Finley was nearly crushed beneath its weight, but, landing on the ground with an 'umph’, he rolled away. He sustained some injuries though, the most prominent a chunk taken out of his right ear, in a 'V’ shape. The chunk of flesh still hung from the deer's antler.

 

Seeing another one of their herd fall, two of the winged deer reared and jumped away from the fire tiger whom had backed away submissively. The fawn remained watching the doe while the other two attacked Mugman and the other chased Finley. The griffin, who had been circling above, dive bombed Boris. Boris stumbled and swung his pipe at the griffin. Bendy surged forward and grabbed the griffin's hind leg.

 

“Claws off my brother,” Bendy growled. The griffin shrieked, loud enough to make Bendy's eardrums pound. The griffin kicked him away and pounced. Behind the griffin, he saw the fire tiger attack Boris, but Alice interrupted with a “Hey!” and jumped boldly down in front of it. The fire tiger paused, but kept it's hungry eyes trained on Boris.

 

The griffin pushed Bendy to the ground, and he realized, although he would never admit it, that he was perfectly snack sized for the cat-bird. He struggled to fight off the bird, pushing her head away everytime she attempted to bite him. He kicked her stomach, but got little reaction from her. As he punched her in the eye, though, she screeched, backing up and raising her talons to rub at her eyes. Bendy scrambled away, but the griffin reached out of slashed her talons right across his chest and stomach. His clothing ripped- the talons pierced his flesh, sending hot pain shooting through his body.

 

He gasped, grunting in agony. He clutched his stomach, staggering backwards. The griffin cawed victoriously. She pounced on to Bendy, biting the top of his head as he struggled to fight her off. Blood trickled down into his vision, but before the griffin could leave that deep of a wound, a blue shot landed beside her. She jerked her wings open and flew upwards, attempting to take Bendy with her but he squirmed out of her grip. She landed on the rubble of a shed, screeching vexedly.

 

Mugs had shot at the griffin, but he was too preoccupied with the vengeful winged deer chasing after him. Mugs ducked away from a powerful kick. He landed beside Boris and Alice, firing a shot at the tiger. The tiger roared and swiped at him, but shied away from the winged deer as it jumped into the fray. Finley snuck into the group, bringing the other winged deer with him. The three creatures, two prey, one predator, all leaped at the four toons. Mugs grabbed Boris and pulled him out of the way while Finley boldly snuck under the belly of the deer as it flew. He veered around and grouped back up with Mugs and Boris. Meanwhile, the tiger pounced over Alice, scratching the other deer as it approached her. The tiger chased after the deer for a while before it diverted its path back to Mugs and Boris.

 

The griffin was not giving up though. She opened her wings and snatched Alice while she had her back turned. Alice let out a scream of surprise, and Bendy heard Snowball’s frantic meeping. The griffin tossed Alice to the ground as she twisted in the cat-bird’s grip. Alice stood up onto her feet but the griffin was already back, swooping her up. The griffin took flight, flying towards the city back to its nest.

 

The fire tiger heard Alice’s cries of alarm and angled it’s ears toward her curiously. The feline broke away from the deer and chased after Alice and the griffin. Bendy clenched his teeth as he stood up, pain taking ahold of him with it’s vicious claws. He fought through it, his eyes flickering between Boris and Alice. Boris had Mugs and Finley to protect him. He would be fine.

 

Bendy ignored his searing wounds and chased after Alice. With quick thinking, he dashed on top of the rubble of a shed and leaped onto the back of the fire tiger as it raced past. The tiger roared in surprise, glancing back at him. It attempted to throw him off, giving Bendy sick flashbacks to the unicorn he had ridden. But, it seemed more interested in pursuing Alice, so it ran forward, still bucking occasionally or performing complicated maneuvers in an attempt to throw him off. Eventually, the tiger calmed down and seemed to forget about him, allowing Bendy a moment to relax his grip on his tiger’s pelt. He couldn’t tell if it was just the hot blood spilling from his wound or if the fire tiger radiated heat from its body.

 

The tiger veered suddenly, nearly tossing Bendy off. It leaped onto a dumpster and then onto the roof of a shop, then shot up onto another building. It pounced upwards, grabbing the griffin between’s its claws. The griffin cawed wrathfully, tumbling to the ground with the tiger. The cat-bird lost its grip on Alice, and she collided to the ground with a soft groan. Bendy jumped off the overgrown cat before it crushed him under its weight.

 

He ran away from the tussling creatures, stopping next to Alice. He helped the angel up, his heart beating and breathing ragged. Snowball meeped weakly on Alice’s shoulder, stars swirling around her head. They both took a moment to catch their breath before they heard the griffin shrieking as she knocked the tiger away and resumed her hunt after her prey. He and Alice immediately bolted, helping each other through the rubble and waste of the chaotic city. They ducked through alleyways too small for either the griffin or the tiger to fit.

 

Eventually, the stubborn pursuit of the griffin ceased, the beating of her wings disappearing with one last caw. Bendy immediately keeled over, landing on his knees, panting heavily. Blood pooled around him and his vision started to wobble, dark spots appearing.

 

“Bendy!” Alice gasped, rushing to support him. She put his arm around her shoulder. Snowball scrambled onto her arm and then onto his shoulder, rubbing her head against his neck, meeping sympathetically.

 

“Oh no, this is bad,” Alice fretted. Bendy could barely focus on her words, merely focusing on her angelic warmth while trying not to pass out. He couldn’t just pass out again, not after every battle. He wasn’t weak, he could handle this.

 

Alice laid him down against a wall, and Bendy found himself too exhausted to protest, his breaths taking a lot of energy, sending pain spiking through him with each one. She tugged his jacket off, biting her lip and wincing. She wrapped the bedraggled jacket around his wounds, applying pressure that made him suck in air through his teeth. Cuss. That hurt so much. Starfallen griffin.

 

As Alice worried over his injuries, panicking over what to do, and stating she didn’t know what part of town they were in, Bendy caught movement from the edges of his black-spotted vision. From the shadows of a destroyed building, an object was flung, falling down with multiple thumps until it reached the ground. Bendy tensed while Alice stood straight up, ready to fend off whatever was out there.

 

Nothing approached. Alice blinked, hesitantly approaching the object. Bendy could just barely make out what it was: A first-aid kit. She picked the first-aid kit up, scanning the shadows.

 

“Hello? I know you’re there. Come out and I won’t hurt you,” Alice called. Silence answered her.

 

She turned back to Bendy, approaching the demon while throwing cautious looks over her shoulder.

 

“We… can’t stay here,” Bendy forced out as Alice opened the first-aid kit.

 

“Shh, don’t speak. You’ll waste energy.” She pulled out gauze and tape to cover his wounds in. She frowned. “We’ll just have to wait until they prove themselves peaceful or a threat.”

 

Bendy tried to argue further, but he couldn’t. He was too exhausted, the warmth coming from Alice was too lulling, and Snowball rubbing her soft, fuzzy head against him as Alice tended to his wounds didn’t help.

 

He didn’t know when, but at some point, he lost conscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, and Bendy's out like a light again. Okay, well, this time, he's actually not gonna be down for too long. He's just gonna be really drowsy.
> 
> And gosh does my random generator hate these guys! (I use the random gen to determine who lives, who dies, and how bad the injuries are) It actually placed one of these guys on the death list! Unfortunately, I think it's a little too soon for that... Er, I mean fortunately! Yep, fortunately! I totally don't want to kill one of them off! I'm not evil! Yep!
> 
> Hehe, thanks for reading, good luck and good writing!


	9. Friend or Foe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some more running around and fleeing for their lives this chapter! With a little spice. Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter Nine: Friend or Foe**

 

Boris jumped out of the way of an oncoming winged deer, it's antlers nearly piercing him. He clutched the pipe in his hand tightly. It was more of a comfort than a weapon right now- he couldn't get close enough to the deer to hit them. They just kept trying to stab him with their antlers.

 

Mugman fired another shot at the deer. The deer backed off with an anguished bleat, wings flaring and flapping. Mugs corralled the rest of the deer together before scaring them off with a blue shot.

 

“Come on, we need to go before they charge us again,” Mugs addressed Boris and Finley.

 

“Where’s Alice and Bendy?” Finley asked, pawing his ripped, bleeding ear.

 

“Last I saw, Alice was in the claws of that griffin,” Mugs replied hastily.

 

“Bendy must have followed her,” Boris added.

 

“They’ll be fine. We need to go.” Mugs glanced over his shoulder before grabbing both of them and shoving them to the ground. Wings and horns soared above them, zooming past with an enraged grunt. All three of them bolted away, not looking back as they heard the bleats and wingbeats of the vexed deers. Mugs led them through dark, twisted alleyways, leaping over trash and litter and furniture without breaking a sweat. Boris, having experience from his days on the streets, wasn’t too shabby either, but he was far slower. Finley had similar experiences as Boris, so he wasn’t too far behind, although his exhaustion and injuries were surely slowing him down.

 

Boris yelped as he dodged a witch flying past on her broom. Taking his eyes off from in front of him, he nearly smacked into a wall in the panic, but he quickly corrected himself, jumping over a cat-scratched couch after Mugs. He grabbed Finley’s paw as the fox stumbled over a waste bin, getting his foot stuck. The fox kicked it off and sped after Boris, the two of them trailing Mugs as best they could. One of the winged deer slammed its hoof down, nearly right onto their tails. Boris whacked its muzzle with his pipe, to which the stag bleated and kicked angrily.

 

They were panting by the time they caught up with Mugs, who started to slow down. He veered to the left, ducking into a tiny alleyway. Boris and Finley followed. A winged deer, the one with the shortest antlers, thrust its head in and got stuck. The three of them caught their breath, panting like dogs in summer. They watched the struggling winged deer as it attempted to pull its head out, grunting with effort. It bleated helplessly, kicking out it's back legs. It's herd trotted behind it, encouraging their comrade. They seemed to have lost interest in Mugs, Boris and Finley in turn for caring for their trapped herd member. Boris's mind flashed to the deer the tiger had struck down. A fawn had watched over it, and probably still was. They cared for each other.

 

That made Boris frown, and he was compelled to help the winged deer out, but one look at those pointed antlers and he knew better. He let out a small whine, but turned back to face Finley and Mugs.

 

“What do we do now?” Boris asked.

 

Mugs sucked in a few more greedy breaths. “Keep going. Try to find our way back to the house… again.”

 

“ _ Again, _ ” Finley repeated, murmuring under his breath, agitated.

 

Mugs sighed. “We don't have much of a choice. I don't remember the way back to the castle-thing, and even if we did find it, we wouldn't know what dangers were in there without Alice's map.”

 

Finley groaned, ears dropping. “Why does everything we do feel so pointless?”

 

“It's not pointless,” Boris argued heatedly. “We have to keep trying. We need to save Holly.”

 

Finley straightened up, nodding. “Yeah, I know. Still, wish this cussing nightmare was over with.” He reached up and touched his ripped ear. Blood stained his gloves.

 

“Is your ear okay?” Boris asked.

 

“Cussing stings, but I think I'll be fine.” He flicked his ear, thick blood dripping down, grim and dust making it darker. Boris hoped it didn't get infected.

 

“Step back a bit,” Mugs advised, pointing a finger at the brick wall that blocked the other end of the tight alley. Boris hopped backwards, careful to avoid the trapped deer's antlers, and Finley did the same. They both covered their eyes as Mugs’s finger lit up and blasted the wall to smithereens. Boris's ears rung for a moment. Dust littered the air, making him cough. He wrapped his bandana around his muzzle.

 

Mugs grabbed Finley’s hand, who grabbed Boris’s hand, and they tugged each other along. Boris squinted in the darkness and dust, trying to make out the shapes. The air became more breathable as they entered an open space.

 

They came upon a road, cracked and broken. A car who’s alarm still rung laid upon its side. A werewolf stood upon it, nose raised, scenting the air. A giant serpent slithered in and out of the houses on the block. One house seemed to be securely boarded up, traps set up around it. Some figures could be seen walking inside. No toons ran here, and the closest screams could be heard a distance away.

 

They all tensed as the werewolf slowly turned to glare at them, maw dripping with drool. It’s long, muscular, furry arms with ragged fur ended in beefy hands equipped with sharp claws at the end. Boris could already see the power behind them, claw marks littering the crushed car. The werewolf howled, mighty and thunderous. Then, wagging it’s pale gray tail, it lunged forward.

 

Mugs was quick to react, firing a bullet straight at the ugly mutt’s head. The werewolf yelped, pawing at his face, before turning back to the cupman with a snarl. He took a step forward, but Mugs would have no mercy. He fired shot after shot, the werewolf struggling to scramble away. It tripped over a garbage can, fur singed and skin blistering. It howled with pain, whimpering and shaking, desperately trying to fight off the barrage of blue bullets with pathetic swats of its hands.

 

“Mugs, stop,” Boris said. Mugs hesitated before dropping his hand, letting the canine man run away, tail between its legs.

 

“Let’s go.” Mugs began to walk, staying on the right side of the road, opposite to where the serpent roamed. Boris and Finley were inclined to follow. It seemed wherever they went, eyes peered from the darkness, and monsters lunged for them. Luckily, a shot from the cupman scared them off.

 

The most startling encounter they had, though, was when they were approaching another tipped over car, a shade of silvery white. They had full intentions to walk past it, but an angry figure leaped out on to the top of the car, a sharpened stick in hand. Mugs nearly shot, but the harsh glare sent his way made him stop.

 

“Nurse Fanny-”

 

“It’s you idiots,” Fanny responded, lowering her weapon and sighing.

 

“Fanny, who is it?” Her nurse friend, the cute chick with the sweet, kind, chirpish voice, popped her head up over the tipped car.

 

“That dumb cupman’s brother and his friends,” Fanny answered, bunny ear flicking. She crossed her arms sternly. “ _ And  _ they're all injured. Idiots! We already have too many patients as it is. Can’t you stay out of trouble for  _ one  _ second?”

 

“Err-” Mugs tried to say, but he was cut off as Fanny hopped down beside them, glowering at them like they were the problem.

 

“Have you been throwing yourselves into danger? Look at all these wounds! You're worse than the other toon's who recklessly tried to be heroes!” Fanny chided, examining each of them with a piercing glare.

 

“Fanny, we should get them to the hospital!” The other nurse gasped.

 

“The hospital? But, there's so much-” Boris began.

 

“Shut it, we're taking you lot to the hospital  _ now _ .” Fanny growled. “We don't have enough supplies for all these patients, but you'll die without proper treatment.”

 

The three of them all shuffled awkwardly, not sure what to say in response to the angered bunny lady.

 

Fanny snatched Mugs, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him along, gesturing for the wolf and fox to follow. “Where is your brother? He's not playing hero too, is he?”

 

“N-No, well,” Mugman gulped. “He's, uh, somewhere?”

 

Fanny paused, staring at him, before sniffing disdainfully. “You idiots are full of trouble.”

 

“Didn't you say you had a lot of patients?” Finley questioned, glancing from the bird nurse to Fanny.

 

“Yes. This chaotic night has brought in more patients than we can count,” Fanny answered, tone clipped.

 

“It's awful! I've never seen so much destruction and bloodshed.” The other nurse shuddered. “We're trying our best to treat the patients, but search parties keep bringing in more and more wounded.”

 

The weight of this catastrophic event hit Boris head on in that moment. If they didn't stop Holly, countless wounds would be inflicted upon innocents. Someone could die. Stars, someone could have _ died already.  _ Who knows how high the body count could be? How high it could get?

 

No, no, no… he had to push those thoughts away. No one could have  _ died.  _ Not… not yet, surely. And no one would die, because they'd stop Holly. They'd save her. They'd sever her connection to that blasted cog. No one else had to be hurt.

 

A lump formed in his throat. No one else had to be hurt like with Mr. Mickey's permanent muteness, or Xedo's horrendous burns, or the countless puncture wounds on Bendy, or the bloodied rip in Finley's ear.

 

All the innocent civilians would be fine. Bendy would be fine. Alice would be fine. Cuphead and Felix were fine and alive. Mickey, Xedo, Finley, Mugman- they'd all be fine. Everyone would be okay. They had to be.

 

Boris pushed away the tears forming in the corners of his eyes, opting instead to follow the nurses compliantly.

 

\--------

 

Alice watched the rise and fall of Bendy's chest. Had she bandaged him up well? She hoped so. The bleeding had slowed, nearly completely stopping. His whole torso was wrapped in white bandages, his ruined, bloody, ripped jacket and shirt were laying beside him.

 

It had been roughly thirty, maybe forty, minutes. Bendy kept fading in and out of conscious, slightly delirious and quietly mumbling in his short seconds of consciousness. Alice hadn't gone too far, always keeping the demon in her vision, but she had scouted out the area around them. Snowball remained faithfully beside Bendy, rubbing her cheek against his and squeaking softly.

 

The area around them was a wasteland between alleyways, trash thrown everywhere, the smell nauseating. At least that would cover their own scent, hopefully. Alice, so far, had not found any trace of their mysterious helper. The angel had even wondered if she had hallucinated the med kit falling. Maybe the kit had simply fallen? But in such good conditions?

 

A fierce roar startled her out of her ponderings. Her head whipped around, scanning the smoggy skies. There, a silhouette against the darkness, was the griffin that had chased them before. It stood upon a slanted building, cawing. But it wasn’t focused on Alice, Bendy and Snowball, to Alice’s relief. It stretched her large wings, feathers fanning out. It dipped down into a crevice, talons clawing. Alice couldn’t see exactly what was happening, but the griffin was clearly chasing after something. It curved around the buildings, talons slashing out and cawing irritatedly at its prey.

 

Alice tensed up as the chase led the griffin closer. Then, it suddenly veered, through the alleyways, allowing Alice a glimpse of a toon running past, desperately trying to escape the griffin. Sending a frantic glance towards Bendy, she hurriedly informed Snowball to watch Bendy before bolting down the alleyways.

 

The griffin’s sheer size made it easy to follow the predator and prey. Alice grabbed a plank of wood that had fallen, took a deep breath, and tossed the wood with all of her might. It smacked the griffin directly in the face, to which the cat-bird squawked angrily.

 

The griffin whipped around so quick, Alice was surprised it didn't get whiplash. Alice could tell it recognized her because it's eyes were alight with fury and vengeance at the sight of her. It roared vexedly, running towards her. Alice tensed, preparing to fight the overgrown chicken. Then, it flared its wings and took flight, soaring over the angel. Alice waited a moment with anxious breath.

 

A gasp of relief brought her back to reality. The toon the griffin had been chasing was a girl, short-haired, medium statured. The clothes she wore were somewhat fancy, if not plain in design. In her hands, she held a paper bag that appeared over-stuffed.

 

“Thank you!” The girl cried, her shoulders relaxing, a smile on her face.

 

Alice approached the girl with her own warm smile. “You're wel-” Her smile suddenly dropped at the same time the girl's did. A dark aura, barely noticeable, hung around the girl like a cloud. Alice's eyes caught on the girl's tiny, yet very,  _ very _ sharp, fangs that shone brightly against her darker, thin lips. The girl stared at Alice's halo- Alice had forgotten it was visible- as her shoulders tensed.

 

“I-” The girl began, backing up and averting her eyes shyly, head bowed. “I'm- erm, I'm sorry. Please don't- I'm not- I'm not gonna hurt anyone, I swear, miss angel.”

 

Her voice was pleading, scared and frightened. Alice was friends with a demon, a gorgon,  _ and _ a currently cog possessed girl. Being to kind to a vampire who had done nothing wrong should be easy.

 

Alice gave the friendliest smile she could muster. “I won't hurt you.”

 

Disbelief spread across the vampire's face. She blinked. “Really? But you're an _ angel. _ ” She shook her head. “Won’t you get in trouble? Don't you… don’t you have too?”

 

“You haven't harmed anybody. Angels don't harm innocents,” Alice informed her.

 

The vampire opened and closed her mouth a few times. “How, erm, how do you determine I'm innocent. What if I've harmed somebody?”

 

Alice's smile dropped and her features steeled. “Have you?”

 

The vampire jumped a little bit, nervously fidgeting with the bag in her hands. “N-No! I mean- I've, uh, s-sucked  _ some  _ blood out of necks, but I haven't, like, a-attacked anybody! I- I ask first!”

 

The angel paused for a moment. “I believe you,” Alice said, smiling politely to calm the girl's fritzy nerves.

 

She eyed the angel warily. “R… Really?”

 

Alice nodded. She continued, humorously, “Although, I will say, I’ve never heard of a vampire asking to suck the blood out of someone.”

 

The vampire smiled timidly, ducking her head abashedly. “Yeah, uh, I guess it's my mom's influence…”

 

An awkward amount of silence followed, the vampire messing with the paper bag while Alice thought of something else to say.

 

“Well,” Alice stated, turning slightly. “If you ever get chased by a griffin again, come and find me.” She smiled at the girl who timidly grinned back.

 

As Alice began to walk away, she heard the vampire stammer out, “Erm, wait!” Alice turned back to face the girl, an eyebrow raised.

 

The vampire pushed a strand of hair behind her head. “I, uh… Th-the bag.. You- you might wanna take the bag with you.” She held the paper bag out, looking anywhere but Alice, blushing.

 

“Oh?” Alice tilted her head inquisitively. “May I ask why?”

 

The vampire's blush deepened. “It has medicine and a fleece blanket. The medicine- I, I wasn't sure what to get because Dr. Finkelstein and Sally usually use, like, weird ingredients for their stuff, so, uh… I just kinda grabbed whatever I could find.” She ducked her head. “And the blanket's, uh, soft… And warm… In case you or the demon might need it...”

 

Alice blinked, taking the paper bag gingerly. Peering inside, she could see various medicine bottles on top of a slightly grimy white fleece blanket. Slow realization dawned upon her.

 

“You're the one who gave us that first aid kit!” Alice gasped, eyes wide. The vampire shuffled nervously, letting out an extremely quiet, “Yeah…”

 

Alice grinned at her. “Thank you! Thank you so much! Oh, Bendy could have bled to death if you hadn't done that.”

 

The vampire kept her flushed face looking to the ground, shrugging her shoulders. “Y-yeah,” her voice cracked, “I was just kind of in the area… I smelt the demon's blood and thought, 'Wow, that's a lot of blood loss, no creature could survive that’...” She fiddled with her fingers, lacing them together. “So, ya know, I went to investigate… I-I thought cause he was a demon he would be fine, but he didn't look fine, and you were there, freaking out, so I just… I mean, I didn't have anything else to do…”

 

Alice had a feeling that if she didn't interrupt the vampire would nervously continue to ramble. “Well, it was great that you did happen upon us! Do you… wanna go back with me?”

 

The vampire jerked upright, pale eyes wide. “Wha- But I'm a vampire!”

 

Alice shrugged. “And Bendy's a demon.” She smiled comfortingly. “You've been a help so far. It'd be rude of me to send you on your way.”

 

The vampire stared for a moment before glancing away. “I mean… I guess- if you don't mind.”

 

Alice beamed at her. “I don't!”

 

Alice led the vampire away, keenly aware of her jumpy, skittish nature. The girl kept glancing upwards and all around, cautious for unseen danger. When they got back to Bendy, Snowball perked up and meeped at the newcomer.

 

Bendy seemed to be in a state of semi-consciousness, fidgeting around but unwilling to open his eyes. He let out a low groan to which Snowball rubbed his cheek, placing a paw on his cheek and patting him gently with a sympathetic meep. His face was somewhat flushed.

 

Alice immediately shuffled through the medicine in the paper bag, looking for something to help with light fever. She pulled out children’s liquid ibuprofen. Well, Bendy wasn’t a child, despite his size, but she didn’t have anything else. Looking at the instructions, she unscrewed the lid and poured the liquid into the cap. Gently, she cupped Bendy’s face and turned him towards her. By the twitch of his eyelid and the soft groan, she could tell he was awake.

 

“Bendy,” she said. “Do you think you can drink this?”

 

At first, he didn’t respond, but then he cracked open an eye, mumbling under his breath. Alice nudged his lips with the cap and he reluctantly sipped down the liquid, Snowball squeaking encouraging. After he swallowed the last drop, he immediately slumped against the wall, eyes forcefully shut.

 

“His blood smells sour…” The vampire whispered. “He'll need something to fight infection…”

 

Alice nodded, sorting through the medicine for something useful.

 

In the silence that lapsed, the vampire hesitantly asked, “What's your relationship with him?” She immediately backtracked, nervously raising her hands. “I mean- not to be intrusive, but… you're an angel, and he's a demon… I’m just, erm, curious.” She blinked. “Is it a forbidden roma-”

 

“No!” Alice interrupted. “No, no, not at all. We're just… friends.”

 

“Oh.” The vampire ducked her head. “Sorry.”

 

Alice smiled. “It's fine. And me and him are friends because we both helped each other out. Well, I suppose, I helped his brother out, but that in turned helped him. Then he got my halo back after it had been stolen.” Alice tapped on her glowing halo. “He's also a really swell guy, I've learned. He's… Well, he's helping get a cure for ink illness.”

 

By the vampire's blank stare, Alice could tell she didn't know anything about ink illness.

 

“It's a disease that's killed a lot of toons.” There wasn't a need to go into the specifics right now.

 

The vampire nodded slowly. “And… is he allowed, uh, on the Surface?”

 

Alice tensed. “Uh… Well, I mean, not exactly…” She bit her lip. “But, I'd say he should be allowed here. He was born on the Surface.”

 

The vampire's eyes lit up. “Ohh! Okay. That explains it. I thought he couldn't fix himself like other demons because he was so young.”

 

“Fix himself?” Alice blinked. Like with what Black Hat had done after Holly had messed with the doll and broken his limbs?

 

The girl shrugged sheepishly. “Yeah… Demons can change their shape? I don't know. I just know what my parents told me. Which, from my mom's perspective, is just to fear them…And angels…”

 

“You don't seem that scared of us,” Alice stated. The vampire was nervous, sure, but she didn't seem all that scared.

 

She wrung her hands together. “Well, honestly… at first, I was frozen with horror… But I've seen far scarier things than a tiny demon and an angel girl on relatively tame Halloweens.”

 

“I am  _ not  _ tiny,” the sharp voice of a drowsy Bendy cut in, glaring at the vampire.

 

“Bendy! How long have you been listening?” Alice asked.

 

The demon groggily sat up. “I've been tuning in and out…” Alice supported his weight, grabbing his arm gently. Snowball squeaked happily. Bendy eyed the vampire warily. “Who are you?”

 

She squirmed under his gaze, bangs covering her face. “Err, I’m sorry. I neglected to introduce myself… My name is,” she flinched, “Valentine.”

 

“Valentine?” Both of them questioned, eyebrows raised.

 

She blushed. “Y-yeah, yeah, I know… My town thinks it’s a hilarious joke, a vampire being named after the holiday of love… But, my mom and dad met on that day, ‘cause my dad wanted to know what the world was like on the other holidays beside Halloween. You can call me Valen, or Vally, or Val, or ‘tine, or whatever, i-if you want… One person called me Love.” She raised her hands. “A-and, he wasn’t my boyfriend or anything- it was just the nickname he chose… ‘cause, holiday of love and all...” She mumbled something under her breath, looking somewhat irked.

 

“Is your birthday on Valentine’s too?” Bendy asked, a slight smirk on his face.

 

She smiled. “Hah, a lot of toons think that, but, no. I was actually born, ironically, on April 1st.”

 

Bendy winced. “Oh, ouch. I bet you get a lot of those cruel April Fools jokes.”

 

Valentine shrugged. “Well, yeah, but I live in a town of pranks and scares. They aren’t any worse then they are year round. The only reason I even know I was born on the holiday of jokes is when I visited my mom.”

 

Alice tilted her head, a little confused. “Why would your mom know but not your dad?”

 

“Well, my mom’s a Surface vampire, my dad’s a Halloween Town vampire. Halloween Town wasn't really aware of the other holidays until the Pumpkin King discovered Christmas.”

 

“What?” Alice and Bendy both stared.

 

She shied away. “Ah, it's a long story…”

 

Fortunately for her, she didn't have to explain, as a screech erupted above them. Circling them, the starfallen griffin was silhouetted against the storm. They all abruptly stood up. Bendy winced, nearly tumbling, gasping as his wounds stung.

 

Valentine immediately bolted for the shadows of a wrecked house. She stopped herself and hesitantly turned around, pale. “Come on! I know a safer place.”

 

Alice traded a look with Bendy before dashing after the vampire, tugging Bendy along. The griffin above them shrieked, diving downwards, claws outstretched to snatch them up. Its talons hit the ground, Alice pulling Bendy away from it. The two of them raced after Valentine, Bendy limping badly and staggering often. The griffin roared, charging after them, attempting to push its way through the wreckage and litter of the broken buildings. Valentine grabbed Alice's hand and pulled her downwards into a crevice almost too small for them to fit. With the griffin giving a final shriek of rage, Alice and Bendy followed Valentine away from the beast, deeper into the twisting alleyways and crumbled buildings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ack, sorry the cut-off point is so awkward. This chapter and next chapter used to be squished together but it was way too long that way, and chapter 11 used to have some parts of it in this chapter, but i decided to move the events around, and its messy. I'm not much of a "Rewrite the whole chapter" kind of editor/author. I just go with what happens and change what really really sucks ^^
> 
> And I'm proud to introduce Valentine! She's a character made specifically for this story. I don't want to fall into those OC-insert or self-insert stories, as interesting as they are, so any original character introduced in this AU is gonna have a purpose, whether just to help the main guys out or to be kill fodder. I made sure to properly plan out Valentine's backstory so she doesn't feel flat. Family, history, where she's from, relationship with others, personality, sexuality, even her talent! Hint hint, her talent has something to do with Valentine's Day...
> 
> That aside, thank you for reading; good luck and good writing!


	10. Crime and Punishment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoppy Easter! Apparently. Gonna be honest I didn't know it was Easter until this morning. Ah well, free candy!
> 
> While Easter might be a time of fun, I can certainly tell you Felix doesn't have a lot of fun this chapter! Yikes. Poor kitty :( Well, I at least hope you enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter Ten: Crime and Punishment**

 

Felix followed Holly and the dire wolf, right at their heels. The griffin was behind him, urging him forward. He had been untied from the table, let off of his leash. Still, he felt caged in, the griffin's nervous beady eyes watching him closely. He could tell both Holly and the wolf were keenly aware of him, keeping tabs on his every moment. There was no escape. Not for now, at least.

 

He kept his head low, ears flat. His whiskers kept twitching, curious about his surroundings. Most of it was stone, but they'd stumble across some random wooden walls or floorboards. One room even seemed to have a carpet, bizarrely enough.

 

Still, he didn't have enough freedom to explore. Most of the rooms were left a mystery to him. Occasionally, he’d see a rat skitter across the stone floor, or a bird flutter around aimlessly.

 

As they walked passed a pair of large doors, Felix watched the griffin pause, staring at the door, talon raised. Felix’s whiskers twitched. He glanced at griffin, meeting his anxious gaze. He tilted his head, silently asking what held the griffin’s attention. Was there something important behind the door?

 

The griffin’s feathers fluffed out uneasily as the wolf glanced back at them, growling lightly. The griffin shook his head rapidly at Felix’s silent question. He nudged Felix, forcing him to keep walking after Holly and the wolf. The griffin chattered into Felix’s ear.  _ Powerful. _

 

Felix didn’t exactly know what the griffin meant by that, but he assumed he either meant whatever was behind the door was powerful or that Holly was more powerful than whatever was behind that door.

 

Felix raised his head, ears pricking. “Where are we going?” He meowed, the words still feeling strange on his foreign tongue.

 

Holly smiled over her shoulder at him, the cog moving behind her. “Are you sure you want a spoiler?”

 

To his surprise, he hesitated. He couldn’t quite place why though. He shoved off his uncertainty. “Yes.” He wanted to know what he was walking into to.

 

Holly smirked, black eyes glistening, sending a shiver up Felix’s spine. “You disagree with you and I helping each other, right?”

 

Again, he hesitated, but this time it was because he wasn’t sure what she was getting at. “...Yes. I won’t hurt my friends just because you think it’ll benefit you, Holly. I want to save you, not harm the others.”

 

She let out a light chuckle. “Harm them? Whoever said I wanted you to harm them. In fact, I want you to help them.”

 

“If by help you mean steer them away from your traps, then… Well, yes, I want to do that. But I don't want to help you.”

 

“No, no, that’s not at all what I’m referring too. You see, they came for me again today.” She turned a corner, Felix following cautiously. It was a dead end, a familiar golden glowing symbol written on the wall. “So I sent some creatures after them. A griffin other than our friend here, that fire tiger… and some perytons.”

 

Felix’s ears pricked. “Perytons?” He had heard of those. Winged deer with antlers sharp as knives and laced with lethal poison that could kill even a dragon.

 

Holly smiled at him, gesturing towards the symbol. She touched the wall, disappearing in a flash. The wolf growled at him, ordering him to follow. He glanced behind himself, at the griffin, who bowed his head, tufted tail twitching. Felix gingerly placed a paw against the wall. He only blinked, and suddenly he was in a new place. A room with one open door leading to a hallway. Holly stepped through the door while the wolf and griffin appeared behind him. The wolf grabbed him by the scruff as he stood stunned. He chucked Felix through the doorway. Felix hit the floor and rolled. Felix scrambled for his footing, cowering as the wolf snarled right in front of his face, fangs gleaming. The canine had already nipped at his flank multiple times today. He didn’t want anymore fur pulled from his pelt. As a small cat, it really hurt.

 

The wolf huffed with satisfaction, trotting after Holly proudly, tail raised. The griffin nudged him gently with his cool beak, squawking softly in support. Felix smiled at the griffin before they both took to following the dire wolf and Holly.

 

They were walking on the walls, Felix noted. The doors were below them. So the building they were in must be tilted, thrown on its side. That was good to note. As they passed another hallway, Felix noticed a burn mark on the wall, and some old, tangy blood droplets on the ground. Feathers too, some small and smokey, others… He glanced at the griffin. Where these his feathers?

 

Once again, the griffin understood his silent question. He supposed it had something to do with animal language. Good thing Felix was a quick study.

 

_ Mine,  _ the griffin chirped, wings shuddering. He still held his burned wing close to his body, gently cradling it.  _ Other feathers from mean alpha people with wings. Man with powerful fingers downed one. _

 

So Cuphead had been here.

 

...A place where Holly clearly had access.... And where the griffin had been with Cup only to end up with Holly…

 

...What had happened to Cuphead, then?

 

_ Hey! Cat! _ The dire wolf barked harshly, stopping to glower at them before pacing after Holly again.  _ Move it! _

 

He and the griffin sped up until they were behind the other two again. He noticed how anxious the griffin was, it's beak chattering, glancing at every wall like it was going to come alive and attack him. That put Felix on edge.

 

They stopped at a hole in the wooden floor. Looked like something heavy had slammed into it, splintering the wooden planks. Claw marks scarred the edges of the hole like something had tried to escape. Glancing into the hole, it seemed to be nothing important. Just a dark wooden floor below with some more feathers littered on it.

 

The griffin let out a squawk, trembling. Holly smiled at the griffin. “Why don't you do the honors, griffin?” She gestured to the hole with her hand. The wolf growled, ordering the griffin to follow Holly's command.

 

The griffin flared his wings, one crooked and folded. He leaped forward, and to Felix's surprise, snatched him between his talons. He yowled, kicking out at the griffin as they plunged downwards. The griffin landed with a thud on the ground, dropping Felix roughly. He stood up as quick as he could, shaking his head.

 

Felix gasped, stumbling backwards and into the griffin as a winged deer appeared in front of him, half of its face darkened as if burned. The peryton stepped forward, antlers lowered threateningly. Felix slipped under the griffin’s belly, his cat instincts wanting him to hide. The griffin trembled, staring at the perytons as more appeared and circled them.

 

A gold rune flashed in front of Felix and the griffin. Out stepped Holly and the wolf, the cog glowing behind them.

 

“Hello, perytons,” Holly crooned. She held out a hand for them to sniff. The closest one, the stag with the charred face, snorted, approaching the hand warily, eyes narrowed and untrusting of the girl. He glanced at the cog behind her, sensing it’s dark aura.

 

“Aren’t you glad to see me? I reunited your herd, after all,” Holly said, pouting dramatically. The stag tilted his head, and the dire wolf translated Holly’s words for him, albeit more harshly. The stag traded looks with the fierce doe by his side. One of the herd stepped forward, a fawn who had been standing beside an elegant doe with a nasty bite wound on her neck, still bleeding. The fawn bleated, gaining Holly’s attention.

 

“Oh, did they injure your friend, little one?” Holly walked over to the fallen deer, the other perytons unsettled by her movements but unwilling to attack as the dire wolf snarled at them. The griffin chased after the two so Felix was inclined to follow warily. Holly kneeled down in front of the injured deer, who bleated. The rest of the herd became restless, prancing around agitatedly, but the wolf’s warnings and the fawn’s trustingness of Holly kept them at bay.

 

Holly placed her hand on the doe’s wound, whispering sweet nothings. Golden runes flashed, as did the cog, lightly. In seconds, the blood dried up, the last droplets dripping to the ground to form a puddle. The wound became a tender scar of bite marks along the deer’s neck. It’s ears rose in surprise, bleating joyously. Wobbly, it rose to its legs, informing the rest of the herd of Holly’s healing capabilities.

 

_ She Healed my wound too,  _ the dire wolf added in with his own barks, showing off the scar on his shoulder.  _ Her abilities are endless. She is a true Alpha. _

 

The dire wolf’s words were lost on the deer’s ears, but they understood the gist off it.

 

Holly was all-powerful.

 

Felix cursed Holly’s intelligence at that moment. The cog had turned it into a form of manipulation. That’s how the animals became so loyal to her. She acted sweet and like she would protect them! In return, they were eternally loyal.

 

The head peryton bowed his head towards the cog possessed girl, bleating his sincerities. All of the perytons cried merrily. To Felix’s surprise, a few turned their gaze to him and the griffin. The griffin trembled, of course, terrified to death of the winged deers, but then the perytons dipped their heads respectfully. The perytons must have believed that because Felix and the griffin were with their savior, they were just as grand.

 

The griffin’s wings twitched, startled and puzzled. Then, he stood up straight and puffed out his feathery chest, tail curling. Felix twitched his whiskers in amusement. The griffin enjoyed praise, it seemed.

 

Then Holly began to walk to the sides of the room. The dire wolf followed at her side, this time along with a now proud griffin. Felix followed at a leisurely pace, feeling calm around their new allies.

 

...Well, Holly’s new allies. But they wouldn’t hurt Felix, so he supposed they were his allies as well.

 

“My, my, you don’t have any food down here! Well, don’t you worry. I can fix that in a jiffy!” Holly snapped her fingers in a grand show of her power. Runes lit up along the side closest to them, fresh grass growing from the floorboards which changed into soft dirt. On the other side of the room, a river appeared, although it didn’t flow, replacing the floor beneath it. The cog circled her, Felix shivering at the amount of  _ wrong  _ feeling magic that imminated out of it. He had felt it before, but now, as a cat, he felt so much more susceptible to it.

 

The perytons rejoiced, leaping up into the air and flapping their wings. They quickly scampered over to the grass, munching happily. Holly watched them with a glimmer in her black eyes, smiling rather creepily.

 

Felix cleared his throat. “You said where we were going would help the others.”  _ ‘And you gaining allies to hurt them with is hardly helping.’ _

 

Holly grinned. “Oh, it will! These guys already had a run in with Crack-he-... Cuphead, and with Bendy, Alice and them.”

 

“...So you’ve mentioned.”

 

“Well, Cuphead and Finley both got stabbed by their antlers.”

 

“No! The poison- Shouldn’t it have killed them by now?” Felix felt his blood turn to ice. They couldn’t have, surely? They were both strong. They would both get help from the others.

 

“Should have, had I not interfered. I used runes to stop the spread of it for the Crack-head. As for Finley, he only got his ear ripped off. There wasn’t enough poison to give him a swift death. He’s dying, slowly. But you can help me heal them.” Holly turned to him, kneeling down in front of him.

 

Felix stepped back, lifting a paw. “How, exactly?”

 

“By being a guinea pig.” She reached out and snagged him by the collar as he tried to run away. She yanked him upwards. He coughed, choking slightly, and she moved her grip to his scruff. His body coiled up instinctively. With his paws he swatted at Holly's hand, trying to get her to drop him. He yowled and hissed, twisting and turning, trying to get out of her grip.

 

She held him over the antlers of the doe she had healed, who was now grazing peacefully. The doe glanced up at him and backed away, dipping her head respectfully, not wanting to harm him.

 

The wolf growled.  _ My Alpha Healed you.  _ He ordered her to stay still. She complied, albeit somewhat perplexed. Why should she harm one of her healer's herd, she seemed to question.

 

Felix clawed desperately at Holly's hands, but his claws seemed to slide right off her. He curled his haunches upward as Holly lowered him. He meowed, his cat instincts panicking wildly.

 

He hissed as the tip of the antler pierced his flesh, a soft ripping sound echoing around the room as Holly dragged him across the antlers, a wide grin on her face, a clean slice forming along his back leg.

 

His claws flexed themselves, unsheathing and sheathing themselves, wanting to scratch something. His cat instincts screamed at him to either fight his attacker or flee, but he could do neither.

 

His blood began burning at the cut, trickling down from his leg and onto the peryton's antlers. The thick blood ran down, and down, coating her face. As Holly pulled him away from the doe, she shook her head, droplets flying everywhere.

 

He bared his fangs at Holly as she cradled him, tilting his bloodied leg so she could see it. Runes lit up on his haunches, and Felix quickly realized what they were for. Now, the poison couldn't spread past his leg, so at most, he'd only lose a limb rather than die.

 

Holly smiled down at him, black hair framing her face. “Don’t throw a hissy fit. This is for the greater good. Just think: You're saving that damned Crack-head and sweet, dear Finley. Isn't that worth the pain?”

 

“You're a monster,” Felix spat in her face, tail puffed and lashing agitatedly. “That cog- This isn't you, Holly. You'd never do this.”

 

“The old Holly never would. But I would. I  _ am.  _ Oh, Felix the Cat, you really need to get that in your little kitty head. I'm not the old Holly, and I never will be again.” She grinned at him, as if proud of that fact.

 

Felix could only snarl, searing pain coursing through his body.

 

\--------

 

_ November 5, Saturday _

 

_ Dear reader, _

 

_ I bet you're wondering what happened from where I last left off. Well, you probably know if you live in Toon Town, although I'm sure word will spread of how Toon Town has been boxed in, chaos reigning inside. No one allowed in or out. Not since I added my own barrier. That starfallen angel made it so I can't leave, so I made it so no one else can. I'll find a way to break out of her cursed little shield eventually. No matter, though. I think I can work inside Toon Town for now. Destroy it from the inside out, as the saying goes. _

 

_ I have so many plans, so many thoughts, so much power. I'm merely writing in my journal as a nice distraction. A bit of relief. You might not understand exactly what I'm talking about, but I could care less. The journal is for me only anyway. Who knows how you got your grubby hands on it. _

 

_ So, here's my current predicament; I've captured the crack-head and Felix, and I've got a dire wolf and griffin guarding me. The wolf's as loyal as can be, the blind mutt. The griffin just fears me. Or the cog. Whatever works for me. I can tell it's scared of my fingers- whenever I move my hand it flinches. The crack-head probably scarred it. It's wing’s burnt. I have a solution for that, as well as a solution so it'll never get injured again. I just have to make sure it's loyal to me first. Show it I am it's one and only master. _

 

_ I'll have to do the same for Felix. Do you know who Felix the Cat is, dear reader? Felix the adventurer? Have you read some of his books, perhaps? Heard of his tales? Maybe in the future he isn't known as the same cat he was in the past. Haha, he certainly still isn't the cat he was when I first met him. _

 

_ Convincing Felix to bow down to me is an improbable task, one that would take a long and tiresome amount of time. I need to work fast, so instead, I'll stick to plain ol’ manipulation. Force him to do what I need him to do and make him think it's his only option. When I presented him with this plan, he wasn't all joyful, of course. So, I put him through a little test. _

 

_ But don't worry! It's just some poison. I'm using it to make some handy pills, and an antidote. The perytons nabbed the crack-head, and I don't want him dying of poisoning. That darned poison is already slowing down my plans for him. Gotta get it out of his system quickly. And I’m aware dear old Finley got stabbed by the peryton's poison-laced antlers too. That ties into my plan for Felix. I won't go into much detail right now. But, let's just say the same way Felix needs a reason to trust me is the same way my old friends are going to need a reason to trust “Felix”. _

 

_ In other news, I decided to do something a little fun when the others tried to come for me. I found that blind brute of a badger-dog-thing, Pete. Oh ho ho, the look on his face when I unblinded him, and there I was, wolf beside me. It was priceless. I could have killed him then and there, sicked my dire puppy on him. But, no, that's far too easy. _

 

_ Instead, I taunted him a bit. Watched him plead for his life like the coward he is- was. He never stopped even when he seemed to realize it was hopeless. Stars, I've never seen a more pathetic bully in my life. Eventually, I had my dire wolf rip his arm right off of his body. The canine lunged right for his arm the moment I gave the command. You should have see how ol’ Petey begged and screamed. Pleading that he was sorry, trying to save his own guilty hide. Ha, nobody cares about him. He's just a rude, ungrateful sunblazing schmuck. Nobody cares if he dies. In fact, I believe people would prefer him dead. _

 

_ I'll be honest, I've never seen so much blood pool from one place in my life! I expected it to be repulsing, or disgusting, but it was fascinating, empowering, thrilling. All that power! Under my control! I can see why bad guys like being evil so much. _

 

_ I took some blood samples just because. Then, I had my wolfie maul Petey a little further. I'd love to give you the juicy details, but unfortunately I don't have the time. Let's end it with me leaving Pete to rot in a dumpster. _

 

_ Hmm, it is refreshing to write in my journal. Sends a spark of joy right through me. But, it's not as enjoyable as seeing how far I can push my power with cog. I do need to be careful with it. I can't let it cloud my judgement. Need to make sure everything I do is well planned out. Can't afford any mistakes. Still, feeling it beneath the touch of my fingers is exhilarating. So much energy, so much magic. _

 

_ If this is what the cog can give me, I wonder what the other machine pieces can do? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since the newest Inky Mystery chapter (104: Train Talk) revealed that Cup can't die of poison (or couldn't die of poison easily), that kind of ruins the tension ;( I didn't plan on him dying of poison anyway, since I already knew he had such a good immune system and Holly wouldn't let that happen with the plans she had in mind for him.
> 
> Anyway, stay tuned for next Chapter: Being Fine! Thank you for reading, good luck and good writing!


	11. Being Fine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Sunday, another chapter! I think this one might be the longest I've written so far? Maybe, I'm not sure. But it sure is exciting! A lot going on. Hope you enjoy reading!

**Chapter Eleven: Being Fine**

 

Valentine jumped down into what appeared to be an old, dusty basement that the house above had been demolished. The remains of the house covered the basement like a roof in such a way that only a sliver was open for them to get through it. Valentine gestured for Bendy and Alice to follow. Alice slipped into the basement first, quickly followed by Bendy, who, because of his small size, had no problem fitting in.

 

The griffin screeched in vexation from outside. It landed on top of the rubble, as seen by the wobble of wooden planks above, and the way pieces crumbled, dust filling the air. The three waited with baited breath as the griffin’s talons scrapped against the wood, desperately trying to claw her way in.

 

One of her talons popped out from the hole that they had entered through, scratching at the air. Bendy jumped away from the claw, backing against the wall and feeling very much like a cornered rabbit. His breath hitched as the talon persistently swiped. It took some minutes, but eventually the griffin gave up. It pulled its talon away and peered through the hole, cawing at her trapped prey. She raised her wings and took flight. Bendy could hear the wingbeats high above them in the sky, circling them, waiting for them to poke their heads out.

 

Bendy shuddered with every gasping breath he took, everything aching. It was so hard to breath, both because of the dusty air and his rushing adrenaline. His stomach and chest were on fire, burning his whole body like a pyre. Some blood trickled down into his vision, the cut on his head reopened in the panic. Additionally, he had gained numerous tender bruises across his body from smacking into a bunch of wreckage whilst trying to escape the griffin. The holes from the unicorns still stung excruciatingly too.

 

His legs failed him, and he fell to a heap on the ground, groaning.

 

“Bendy!” Alice cried, rushing over to him. Bendy could see her own wounds too. The cuts she had gained from the dragon were still healing, and she had abrasions along her arm from when she had gotten hit by that failing piece of wood from before Bendy had awoken. Neither of them were in critical shape. Bendy could already feel himself drifting from exhaustion.

 

Snowball meeped in his ear, jerking him into attention as Alice kneeled beside him.

 

“All that running undid my work! Bendy, don’t move. I’ll go out and get the first aid kit.”

 

What! No! That was all the way back… Wherever they had been! The griffin was still out there.

 

Bendy choked on his breath for a minute, unable to protest. Thankfully, the vampire voiced his worries.

 

“Miss angel, you can’t,” Valentine said. “The griffin’s still hunting us.”

 

“I need to! Bendy could die if I don’t-”

 

“He’s fine! I understand you’re worry, trust me, I really do. But you managed to slow the bleeding down enough. It’s smells a little infected, but it’s not that bad, still good enough to drink.” She seemed to realize what she said, blinked, and raised her hands. “Not that I want to! It’s just- uh… Kinda how us vampires think about blood, I guess.” She shook her head gently. “We can wait a bit before his wounds really get dire. Hopefully the griffin will be gone by then.”

 

“Hopefully? Hopefully! Bendy could  _ die.  _ Does it matter if it's now, or later? We should treat him as quick as we can!” Alice argued heatedly.

 

“W-Well, yeah, but not when there's a monster outside!” Valentine replied, thrown off by Alice's ferocity.

 

“There’s monsters everywhere! That’s kind of the problem! That’s  _ why  _ Bendy’s hurt,” Alice snapped. Valentine opened her mouth bashedly to respond, but Bendy cut her off. He really didn’t fancy the way they were talking about him dying and whatnot when he was  _ right there _ .

 

“You don’t have to throw yourself into danger, Alice. I’m fine,” he lied, trembling as spikes of pain ripped through his body as he spoke, his ragged breathing betraying him.

 

Alice frowned, practically glaring at him. “You. Are. Not. Fine.” Bendy withered under her gaze. Wow, what had her so worked up?

 

“But-” he protested weakly before being cut off. To his surprise, it wasn’t Alice, but rather the skittish vampire.

 

“FINE! I’ll go out! Please just stop arguing,” Valentine sighed, covering her ears with her hands.

 

“What?” Both Alice and Bendy gaped at her.

 

“Yes! I’ll be safer than either of you. I know most of the monsters out there anyway. I just have to get passed the griffin,” Valentine stated.

 

“But you- I mean, you don't need to! You don't owe us anything. We're the ones caught in the middle of this, not you,” Alice protested, stumbling weakly over her words as she tried to think of a good excuse swiftly.

 

Valentine frowned. “I'd argue that I'm certainly in the middle of this seeing as my entire town was dragged here… And if you  _ are  _ in the middle of this, and you're so injured, I think you need some help.”

 

“No-”

 

“Do you even know where the first aid-kit is?” Valentine cut her off.

 

Alice blinked. “Back where we left it?”

 

“And where is that?”

 

“I-” Alice stared for a moment, mouth wide open. “It's, well… I know  _ where  _ it is…”

 

“But not how to get to it,” Valentine finished. She raised her head confidently. “I do. You weren't paying attention to the routes as we fled. I've been hiding out around here since the start of this… second Halloween. I can find it. All I need is a distraction for the griffin and I can slip by.”

 

Alice swallowed. “Well, those are some fair points…” She closed her eyes for a moment, sighed deeply, and then opened them. “Fine. You can go… But be safe… What kind of distraction do you need?”

 

Valentine blinked in surprise, like she hadn't expected to win the argument, as if she had just realized what she had agreed to. She shrugged her shoulders awkwardly. “Oh, uh… I don't know… Just throw another stick?”

 

“Good plan,” Bendy mumbled dryly from his spot on the ground.

 

Valentine's cheeks flushed. “Well, this isn't my forte… I've never done this before. I usually just follow the plans my town make for Halloween? The Mayor has good ideas.”

 

Bendy and Alice stared at her again.

 

She ducked her head shyly. “It's- nevermind… I just need you to lead the griffin one way while I go the other. Then you can come back here, miss angel.”

 

“Okay, sounds easy enough.” Alice frowned. “Are you sure you'll be alright?”

 

“Better than you. If I get in a pickle I'll just look for my friends. They'll help me,” Valentine answered. She approached the hole in the roof. A box was placed under it for easy access. “Ready?”

 

Alice nodded, jumping on top of the box with some effort, her injuries weakening her.

 

“Stay safe,” Bendy called as the two girls leaped upwards and vanished from his vision. His whole body tensed. Alice would be safe, he hoped. She'd be back any moment. The vampire girl too.

 

He squirmed, shifting himself into a more comfortable seating position, his legs crossed. Every movement hurt like the flames of hell were burning him.

 

“Stupid unicorns, stupid griffin,” he murmured under his breath. Snowball meeped sympathetically, nuzzling the side of his face from where she sat on his shoulder.

 

He felt so  _ useless. _ Here he was, so injured, and exhausted, and bruised, and battered that he couldn't do  _ anything. _ Alice was taking care of him like he was some old folk in the retirement home who's body had begun to fail him. It was… well, he didn't know! Embarrassing? Infuriating? Disappointing? Enraging? Some sort of combination of the four.

 

He should be able to do more! Was he really so weak that he'd go down in every fight he fought? Was he really so pathetic that he lost so badly? Bad enough to make it so every breath felt like skeletal, bony claws crushing him?

 

_ “Bendy could  _ die!  _ Does it matter if it's now, or later?” _

 

Alice's words from earlier stung. She had been referring to the wounds he had suffered, but… The ink illness. It reminded him of the ink Illness. Now or later… any moment he could die, whether it be from blood loss and infection from his wounds now, or the ink illness later.

 

His quest for the ink machine. That was his main goal in the end, right? Collect all the parts. They would save him, they would cure ink illness.

 

So how could one of the parts be so destructive that it nearly killed him and many others?

 

That it _might still kill_ _him and others_?

 

In the silence, Snowball meeped, tilting her head at him. Bendy just breathed, stuck in his destructive thoughts.

 

The sound of something thumping onto the ground, followed by quick, heavy breaths, snapped him into attention. Alice was back. No new injuries. From the wrathful screech outside, he could guess the griffin hadn't gone after Valentine, which was good.

 

Snowball squeaked a welcome to the angel as she leaned against a wall, groaning. She looked as exhausted as Bendy felt.

 

“Are you okay?” Bendy asked, frowning.

 

“Yeah, just…” Alice moved a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Just a little tired from running.” She took in a shaky breath. “We just have to wait for Valentine to get the medicine.”

 

Bendy’s frown deepened, and he tilted his head. “How do we know she's trustworthy?” She had just popped up out of nowhere. Bendy hadn't questioned it too much because of his deliriousness, and the fact she seemed friendly. But could they trust her?

 

Alice shrugged. “She hasn't given us any reason not to.”

 

“She talked about drinking my blood. Or, I guess the drinkability of my blood. That's not very reassuring,” Bendy stated.

 

“Different culture,” Alice mumbled half-heartedly, although she didn't really seem focused. She was still catching her breath.

 

Bendy flicked his tail, frowning in the silence that elapsed. Valentine seemed like a trustworthy girl so far. She was proving to be more useful than Bendy was…

 

Bendy fidgeted, messing with the bandages around his chest and stomach. They had loosened when he ran. His blood had started pumping with adrenaline again, wounds reopening without proper care. The bandages were stained, coated in blood.

 

“Hey! Don't mess with those. If Valen doesn't come back, we won't have anything else,” Alice chided, staring sternly at him. She was acting like Red with how strict she was being.

 

“I'll be fine without them…” Bendy mumbled in an attempt to argue, although it was weak. The bandages itched, having been messed up from the sudden chase.

 

“You are not fine,” Alice insisted, glaring at him. This again? Why was she so insistent that he wasn't fine? I mean, he got that he was injured and all, but he wasn't  _ helpless.  _ He refused to be. Especially not in front of Alice. The only person he'd really be one-hundred percent okay with being helpless in front of would be Boris.

 

“Stop saying you're fine,” Alice continued, crossing her arms. “You're not fine. You're  _ injured.  _ That's the opposite of fine. Nothing's fine! Everything's  _ NOT FINE!” _

 

Bendy was startled at the sudden raise of her voice. He jerked backwards, tail kinking, Snowball squeaking perplexedly.

 

“Alice, what's wrong?” He wasn't sure what to say, but something clearly had her ticked off.

 

“What's wrong? Everything!” She wailed, tossing her head up. “We shouldn't be here! You should be  _ fine! But you're not!  _ And we haven't stopped Holly, and we don't know where the others are, or how they're doing, or if they're  _ fine! _ ” Her glare rounded back on him, her eyes narrowed. “And you keep saying you're fine, and you're not. You're really not. You can't stand! You're bleeding! You've got a fever! You're wounds are infected! You're exhausted!  _ Stop saying you're fine!” _

 

Bendy stared at the agitated angel, unsure of how to respond. “Alice, I… I'm worried about the others too. That's why- I mean… I don't have time to be not fine.”

 

“Well that doesn't automatically make you all fine and dandy. That griffin made sure of it. And you're still wounded from those unicorns too!” Alice snapped, her glare intense and frustrated and wild and  _ fearful.  _ He could smell it, hidden under all the anger, the light whiff of fear that smelt so, so tantalizing delicious that it made his stomach twist with disgust at himself.

 

He flinched under Alice's harsh glare, curling in on himself. Snowball squeaked, glaring at Alice. Alice seemed to realize her mistake and dropped her tense shoulders, sighing. She put her head in her hands.

 

“I'm sorry, Bendy. I didn't mean to get angry at you… it's just… I'm so stressed. I want to save Holly, but it's already been a day and any time we get close it's just thrown back in our faces and… I want everyone else to be safe too. Granny, Red, Sammy, Mugman, Felix… all the innocent toons out there… I just…” She let out a small strangled noise. Bendy softened. He felt the same way. That's why he wanted to be fine. So he wasn't a hindrance, so he could save Holly.

 

“And you're just-” She cut herself off, something like a choked sob escaping her. “You're hurt. And I can't do anything about it. I-I-I can't heal you, or help you, or do anything! And I just! I want you to be okay!” Her body shook softly, light sobs escaping her, accompanied by sniffles. Her legs shook, weak from running, and she slipped down the wall a little.

 

Bendy forced himself to stand up, ignoring the searing pain and the aching of his muscles. He limped over to Alice as she slipped down the rest of the wall, sitting on the dusty ground, sobbing. Bendy crouched down beside her. Snowball jumped off from his shoulder and wiggled her way into the crevice of Alice's neck, meeping supportively.

 

The demon hesitated, unsure of how to comfort the crying girl.

 

“Alice… I… I know it feels like we can't save Holly… that everytime we get close to saving her, it's snatched away from us… I feel that way too. But we've gotta keep going or we'll never save Holly.”

 

Alice wiped her eyes, still shaking and crying softly. “I know, I know… But I… H-How can I save Holly when I can't even heal  _ you? _ ”

 

Bendy frowned. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, supporting her as she cried quietly, her sobs becoming heavy breaths. To his surprise, rather than flinch away from him like she usually did, she leaned into him. Bendy's tail twitched.

 

“Just because you can't heal me doesn't mean you can't save Holly… Remember that we're all saving Holly. You and me, and Boris and Mugs, and Finley, and everyone else. We're all a team.” He took a deep breath, pushing away his own spikes of pain. “And… Alice, do you really expect to help me, when you're not even 'fine’ yourself?”

 

Alice paused, her crying lessening to only the racking of her shoulders. “I…” She let out a breathy laugh. “No, I-I guess not…” She rubbed her hand over her face, looking at the grime and flaky blood her glove became stained with. “S-Sorry for getting so… emotional.”

 

Bendy smiled. “No, don't be. We're both stressed. We can just agree that I'll stop saying I'm fine, and you'll stop acting like you're fine enough to do everything?”

 

Alice smiled back at him, brushing away her tears. “Deal.”

 

Bendy grinned. “Berries. You know, I might say I'm fine, but you're the finest angel I've ever met.”

 

That startled a laugh out of Alice, and she lightly shoved Bendy. He ignored the piercing pain that that little shove induced.

 

“I'm the only angel you've met!” Alice giggled, smiling brightly. It was almost like the nightmare outside wasn't happening. It was a welcomed bit of relief.

 

“Then I guess you're one of a kind to me,” Bendy flirted, Alice's laughter lifting his spirits. She burst into a fit of chuckles, covering her mouth to muffle some of the sound. Bendy cherished every second of it. Her familiar angelic warmth warmed his body, allowing him to truly forget about the persistently excruciating pain just for a second.

 

Then, Valentine jumped down the hole, landing on the box right as a griffin talon swiped behind her, followed by a furious caw.

 

Bendy immediately scooted away from Alice, while she did the same. For some odd reason, he felt like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

 

Valentine's mouth quirked, twitching into the makings of a smile. But, whatever amusing thought she was having, she dismissed in favor of stepping off of the box and walking over to the demon and angel, placing down the first aid kit and paper bag full of medicine, along with Bendy's torn jacket.

 

He hadn't even noticed he was missing it. Then again, he hadn't noticed a lot of things since he was so focused on the fire that was pain coursing through his body.

 

Alice quickly got to work, getting new tape and gauze to replace his old bandages. He was startled at how swiftly and unexpectedly she tore off his old bandages- he barely had time to react. She shuffled through the first-aid kit, getting tools to clean out his reopened wounds.

 

Bendy muffled his cries and whines that came with each sting and stab of pain. Getting the new bandages and cleaning his wounds would make him better until he could reach the point where he could say “I'm fine” and not be lying.

 

As Alice worked, she searched for painkillers, asking Bendy how bad the pain was. He replied honestly, and she handed him a few pills. Then, she grabbed some children's liquid ibuprofen, stuffing it in her pocket, with the explanation being her wanting to have it ready if his fever flared up again. She did the same with the painkillers and some bandages.

 

Once she finished bandaging Bendy up, she moved onto herself. Bendy was upset to find that she hadn't been taking care of herself, instead worrying about Bendy's more severe wounds. Her cuts and scratches were far dirtier than his own wounds since she hadn't tended to them. That meant her wounds were most definitely infected, as confirmed by Valentine and her weird vampire blood smell thing. Luckily, thanks to Valentine, they had the medication necessary to help fight off infections.

 

Valentine stayed beside the box under the hole, staring upwards, wary for any danger and keeping tabs on the griffin. Occasionally, when her eyes weren't focused on the hole, Bendy caught her glancing from the sides of her eyes at them, smirking slightly like she knew something they didn't.

 

It was when they all had a moment to catch their breath after tending to all of their wounds that Valentine spoke up, her eyes trained on the outside.

 

“The griffin's leaving,” she announced. Bendy limped over to her, glancing out of the hole. In the distant dark sky, a vaguely bird-like cat shape was flying away, apparently fed up with waiting for her prey to come out of their hiding hole.

 

The vampire turned to the other two, blinking. “Do you… do you guys wanna go? Because I'm all for staying here, but if you guys need to be somewhere… it's safer if I go with you.”

 

Bendy frowned at her. “Why would it be safer?”

 

“Because I know half of the monsters out there. Most of them wouldn't harm you anyway, but they'd distract you.” Valentine shrugged, like it wasn't that big of a deal.

 

“You don't have to come with us,” Alice said, walking over to them. “But if you want to, we wouldn't mind your company.” She smiled at the vampire, who smiled timidly back.

 

“I don't have anything better to do except hide in a hole, so…” Valentine twirled her hair with her finger. “I'm going with you.”

 

With that in agreement, the three of them, plus eager Snowball, climbed out of the dusty, old basement that Bendy was happy to leave behind. Valentine proved that she did know most of the area, even if it was in wreckage. She guided them through the twisted alleys until they reached a cracked road. That's where her knowledge of the area stopped.

 

Still, her presence continued to help them. A trio of what Bendy assumed to be zombies, all pale, wrinkly skinned, walked down the road. One was bald, another extremely plump and the last a kid. They all had cheerful grins of rotten teeth that were awfully creepy. They stared at Alice and Bendy, looking like they wanted to pounce.

 

But, then they saw the vampire walking with Bendy and Alice, and called out, friendly, “Hi, Valentine!”

 

Valentine grinned back at them, waving politely. “Hey, Ned, Bertha, Ethan. How's it going?”

 

“Delightful! Absolutely terrifying! Never seen a Halloween last this long.”

 

Bendy couldn't really follow the conversation. At some parts, it eerily reminded him of that conversation he had had with Black Hat and that other demon, while at other parts they just seemed like over-enthusiastic kids gushing about Halloween.

 

With that rather odd interaction over, the trio continued down the road. Occasionally, some creature would peer at them, looking like they wanted to hunt them down, but they seemed to find easier prey and leave. Valentine also had a useful ability in the form of hiding. She scoped out hiding places pretty quickly whenever it seemed like a creature was actually going to hunt them down rather than just stare.

 

Bendy thought their luck was going pretty well, that is, until the dastardly, starfallen, sunblazing, cursed fairy ponies appeared, glitter and sparkles and all. They were trotting down the road like the owned the place, neighing and whinnying. There were only three of them, but they struck fear into Bendy's very core.

 

Valentine frowned at them, already making her way into the shadows to hide from the unicorns. “Such beautiful creatures,” she said in awe, her voice wistful, like she knew she couldn't approach the horses least they stab her guts out just for being a creature of darkness.

 

_ ‘Yeah, right. Those are killer ponies, not beautiful creatures,’  _ Bendy thought sourly. Snowball squeaked from where she rested on his head, but Bendy wasn't taking any chances with the glitter force. He followed Valentine into the shadows. Alice reluctantly followed.

 

Unfortunately, it was that small bit of reluctance that another familiar foe needed.

 

Screeching with vengeance, that starfallen cat-bird dive-bombed Alice out of nowhere. Bendy bolted of his hiding place in time to give the damned griffin a punch to the face. The griffin roared, flaring her wings and knocking Bendy over.

 

The unicorns noticed the commotion and galloped over to save the angel. As for the demon? Exactly what you would expect.

 

Snowball meeped to the unicorns, explaining the situation to them. The unicorn attacking him paused, ears swerving as it listened to the dandehog's meeps while the other two fought off the griffin.

 

Unfortunately, the unicorn didn't get to listen to the puffball much longer, as the griffin attacked it, clawing wildly. The other two followed the griffin, attempting to stab it, although it was hard to hit a foe that could fly and was honestly just being an all-around pesky nuisance.

 

The griffin twisted around, dodging the unicorn's horns nimbly. It slashed out at Bendy, making him duck. The griffin's other talon jerked forward, slapping Snowball off of Bendy's shoulder. He lunged for her the same time as the griffin, who snatched her in its claws first. One of the unicorns barrelled into griffin as it tried to take flight, allowing Snowball to float in the air. She squeaked, scrambling and trying to right herself. Another unicorn reared on its hind legs, stretching its neck out. Snowball landed on its nose, meeping her gratitude.

 

Bendy let out a breath of relief, the same time the last unicorn tried to stab him in the back. He managed to pull away in time, only getting nicked on the side. He stumbled on his feet, gasping for breath as his other wounds stretched and stung, threatening to reopen,  _ again. _

 

The unicorn pushed him backwards, horn pointing at him threatening.

 

“Hey! Didn’t you listen to the puffball? I’m not your enemy! We’ve got a common enemy: the griffin,” Bendy snapped at the unicorn who snorted, throwing its head and stepping closer to him.

 

The griffin currently wrestled with the two other unicorns while Alice slipped by and grabbed Snowball off of one of them. The griffin curled its lithe body around one of the unicorns, using it’s back to push off and take flight. The unicorn angrily chased after it as it dived for Alice again. The other unicorn broke off and charged for Bendy.

 

“Oh for the love of-” He cursed under his breath as he bolted away, two unicorns stubbornly chasing after him. His starfallen injuries slowed him down, making him limp with every step, sucking in breaths that seemed to get harder and harder to take.

 

The demon dipped into the alleyway, unicorns hot on his tail. He jumped onto a loose wooden plank jutting out from the side the wall. He prayed the plank would hold his weight, and was thankful when it did (and definitely not thankful for his small size and therefore light weight).

 

He leaped upwards, hands grabbing the edge of the slanted roof. He hauled himself up, the unicorns neighing angrily at him, pawing the ground. He let out a sigh of relief before it was cut short as sharp talons nearly pierced his side. He ducked out of the way as the griffin soared over him. He underestimated the amount of roof, accidentally rolling straight off. The griffin roared and veered away while Bendy was left scrambling away from the two aggressive unicorns.

 

He dipped out of the way of the smaller unicorn’s charge, watching as it smashed into the wall, unable to turn in the cramped spaces of the alleyways. It’s horn got lodged, just for a second, and it yanked its head out as hard as it could. Blood trickled down around the area where horn met flesh. It neighed loudly, shaking its head vexedly. It’s friend rushed after Bendy. The demon ducked downwards, the unicorn soaring over him. One of its hooves stomped down onto to his tail, prompting him to screech. The unicorn backed up, kicking at him. Bendy dove away, holding his throbbing tail tenderly. He hissed under his breath, fangs biting down onto his lip to keep him from screaming out further. He glared at the glittering pony, tears pricking his eyes.

 

The other unicorn joined back into the fray again, tail whipping as it neighed to its comrade, its horn still dripping blood. Both unicorns lurched forward, horns ready to pierce Bendy. Bendy jumped backwards onto a ledge the same time as a box came hurtling down from above. It smashed onto the head of the injured unicorn. Bendy glanced upwards, stunned. Valentine stared back down at from him at the top of the curved building, looking dolefully at the horse, as if she hadn’t wanted to push the box on top of it.

 

The unicorn wiggled its head away from under the box, leaving its horn stuck between the heavy weight of the box and the sturdy wooden planks that had formed a platform equivalent to Bendy’s height. It attempted to jerk its horn away, but the movement only made the wooden planks below crack some more, allowing the box to sit down harder on its horn, sealing the unicorn’s fate. Bendy sucked in a breath of air, catching his breath while he could.

 

The unicorn’s friend neighed furiously. It turned its hostile gaze onto Bendy, lunging forward, head dipped down. Bendy leaped off of the ledge he was on, desperately trying to avoid the aggravated unicorn’s assault. His dodging and weaving accidentally lead him to bumping into the other unicorn. He gulped as the trapped unicorn turned its enraged eyes onto him. It kicked out, scraping his arm as he ducked under it. The unicorn apparently didn’t like the idea of a dark and dangerous demon slipping right under its weak, exposed belly, as it jerked sporadically, practically leaping into the air. The frantic movement involved twisting its head roughly, shaking the box as the wooden planks creaked. A sharp, loud crack rang through the air, followed by the unicorn’s eyes widening. It neighed in anguish, forcefully yanking its horn out from under the box. A noticeable crack had formed along the horn, curling around it like a twisting snake.

 

The unicorn raised its front hooves and stomped down right in front of Bendy. The shake of the ground made Bendy stumble. He frantically tried to stand up as the unicorn reared its head down at him. Left with no choice, Bendy grabbed onto the unicorn’s horn, placing his feet against the unicorn’s chest and pushing up so the unicorn couldn’t stab him, using the tactic Finley had on the winged deer earlier. The unicorn whinnied, shaking its head in an attempt to dislodge him. The demon held on tightly, muscles tensing, preparing for the wild ride that was sure to follow.

 

He didn’t have to.

 

Between Bendy’s vice-like grip and the unicorn’s violent thrashing, too much pressure was placed on the horn. There was a sickening crack, and then Bendy was sent flying towards the ground, a broken unicorn horn in hand. He stared numbly at it, then at the broken horned unicorn staring just as confoundedly back at him, as if it couldn’t believe its horn had been snapped in half.

 

“Mister demon!” A voice hissed to him in the silence. He glanced to his right to see Valentine beckoning him into the shadows of an alleyway too small for the unicorns to follow. It took a moment for Bendy to really process it before he finally, and quickly, stood himself up and bolted away from the unicorn as it realized too late he was making a break for it.

 

The other unicorn, it seemed, had quicker reflexes. It cut him off right before he reached safety, neighing with the intent of revenge. Bendy’s heart jumped into his throat, and he clutched the broken horn tighter out of fear.

 

The unicorn lunged forward, Valentine watching horrified behind it, hidden in the darkness. Bendy shut his eyes, waiting for a new burning hole to ornament his body. When it didn’t, and he instead heard a vicious snarl, he cracked open an eye, watching a wolf tackle the unicorn, biting deep into its neck with unusually long fangs.

 

The wolf and the unicorn tussled, allowing Bendy a chance to escape. He took it graciously, leaping into the shadows and landing beside the vampire girl. Valentine timidly smiled at him before turning and leading him deeper into the alleys. Bendy groaned, wanting to stay and rest, but he followed the girl compliantly.

 

Bendy didn’t exactly pay attention to where they were going, but somehow, they ended back up at where Alice was. The angel was watching that fire tiger from before and the griffin battle each other, Snowball perched on her shoulder. A unicorn corpse was littered off to the side, slightly charred.

 

“Alice,” Bendy hissed out, catching her attention. She glanced over her shoulders, a look of horror on her face. She blinked, glancing back at the fighting beasts, before dashing over to Bendy and Valentine, joining them in the alleyways.

 

They all took a moment to catch their breath, Alice and Bendy weak from their injuries.

 

Alice glanced at the horn in Bendy's hand. "Is that-"

 

She didn't get to finish her sentence as a dark shape emerged from the shadows and lunged at the demon. His arms flew to protect himself as the creature collided with him, fangs closing around the unicorn horn in his hand. The canine snarled at him, drool dripping off of its large fangs. It ripped the horn out of his grip, tossing it off to the side and lunging for him again.

 

A new player joined the game with a hiss, leaping onto the wolf's head. The wolf yelped, chucking the cat off of his face, backing away from the feline and the demon. It barked angrily, to which the black cat responded with a hiss, back arched, tail lashing. The wolf huffed, lips curling. The cat growled, ears flattened. The wolf barked again before turning around and strutting away, tail raised high.

 

Immediately the cat turned to Bendy, mewing with round eyes. It nudged his cheek, gingerly placing a paw on his chest.

 

The cat wore a sleek, smooth leather collar with a tag in the shape of the cog on it. That should have roused some more suspicion from him, but his exhausted mind just couldn't find the energy to be distrusting.

 

As Bendy sat upwards, the cat backed away, limping slightly on its back leg. A rumbling meow left its throat, staring at him with wide, worried eyes.

 

Alice knelt down beside him, glancing briefly at the cat. "Hey, are okay enough to travel?"

 

Bendy sighed. He could feel the stings of his wounds, but he felt more… tired than anything. "Yeah… I'm fine enough to travel." He smiled weakly at her, and she smiled back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And our cat joins the gang! Wonder what he's doing here, and with a fancy collar upgrade? Weird. That'll be revealed next chapter: Black Cat, Bad Luck!
> 
> Thank you for reading, good luck and good writing!


	12. Black Cat, Bad Luck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another long chapter! This was quite fun to write, along with the next few chapters. So many questions, so many choices. Who's to say which are the right ones?
> 
> Also, some information and referenced events are taken from Snowball's Day Out chapters on Inky Extras. They aren't necessary to read to understand this chapter, although I recommend checking it out. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Chapter Twelve: Black Cat, Bad Luck**

 

Felix sat with his tail curled around his paws, ears pricked as he watched warily for any signs of danger. All of his nerves were on the fritz- he felt jumpy at every little thing. Something about being a tiny cat in a big, twisted world where everything was bigger than you and could eat you in one bite made everything so much more frightening.

 

Behind him were Bendy and Alice, both catching their breath and adjusting their bandages. The scent of blood and sweat wafted off them in waves, making Felix's nose scrunch.

 

Holly had healed all of Felix's injuries, leaving only a blackened scar from the peryton's poison. But the others, like Alice and Bendy- they couldn't just magically be healed. They had to suffer, their wounds festering and worsening.

 

Felix hated this. He knew he was only here on Holly's terms. He could feel eyes on his back, watching his every move. Any one of her animals could be watching him at any given time. But what was really unsettling was the fact that he felt like he was being watched by _her_. No matter where he was he felt the cold, dark presence of Holly. Even weirder, he couldn't pinpoint where exactly the feeling was coming from or when it had started. The best guess he had was that the feeling of being watched started at the blur in his memory. It sort of got all fuzzy at some point after Holly cut his hind leg on the peryton’s antler, before she quickly mixed up a cure and then sent him on his way to “go help Finley”… During that blurriness he figured he must have gotten his collar upgrade.

 

Glancing at the tag in the shape of a cog, a sense of uneasiness ran through him. Was it not suspicious that he wore a cog tag on his collar? What was Holly thinking? Surely the others would assume he was an enemy the moment they saw him? Yet they hadn’t. Alice and Bendy had made no comment on his odd choice of fashion. Maybe they hadn’t had time to focus on it due to their exhaustion and weariness?

 

Or, the more likely choice: Holly had runed it.

 

He wouldn’t know why, for what purpose, or what runes she used, but certainly, the collar was runed. It even emanated that odd, magicky aura he couldn’t quite explain, but his cat senses certainly felt. Although, why she felt the need to bedazzle him up with a tag shaped in the form of the cog, he had no idea. Some sort of claim? Her sending a statement that he was under her control? That he had no choice?

 

Well, jokes on her, he did have a choice. He just had to play his cards right. He would save Finley, and then he would begin guiding the others in the right direction to defeat Holly. Sure, they wouldn’t know it was him, Felix, that was the cat helping them, but he could work with that. Although, he could probably find a moment where he didn’t feel like he was being watched so he could then write his name down on a piece of paper as a clue… Or maybe the others would piece it together that he was Felix the Cat. They were smart and capable, surely they could figure it out.

 

Felix glanced behind him, ear flicking as Alice and Bendy murmured to each other. The vampire girl, who stood off to the side, had the same reaction, glancing at them with caution in her eyes. Felix wondered briefly who she was- enemy, or friend? Working with Holly, or against? Did she even know about Holly?- but seeing as Bendy and Alice trusted her, he supposed he didn’t have any qualms about her being with the group.

 

His whiskers twitched, his fur bristling slightly. He turned back around, watching a rat slink by into the shadows. He sighed, shoulders drooping slightly. He was so tense at everything. He had reason to be so anxious, but at the same time, it was _exhausting_. Why couldn't he just relax, even for a moment?

 

He shook the thought off, wondering where it came from. Now was not a time for rest and whining. He had to keep Bendy and the others safe. He was the only thing between Holly and them. If he made one wrong move, if he played her game incorrectly, she would snap, and he might not get another chance to save them and stop her.

 

His attention returned back to the angel and demon as they stood up, talking to their vampire friend.

 

"I think we should start heading away from here. We're sitting ducks otherwise," Bendy addressed the girl, who nodded.

 

"Whatever you guys want. I recommend we head down the road. That's where Bertha and them were headed. If we can meet up with them, I'd feel safer."

 

Alice and Bendy traded uncertain looks, frowning. The vampire cringed a little.

 

"If-If that's alright with you two… I could convince them to protect-... not scare you guys too…" She shrugged, shying away from them.

 

"I suppose that's fine…" Bendy murmured.

 

Felix rose to his paws, raising his head. He mewed loudly, trying to convey his agreement that they should start moving. Too many animal eyes were watching them here.

 

He wished he could just speak normally to them, but Holly forbid it. They didn't have translation runes or the ability to use one seeing as those types of runes were so lost to history. Even if they could understand him, the dire wolf would have his neck for disobeying Holly.

 

The three toons glanced at him, Bendy's and Alice's normal side-glances before they returned back to each other. But the vampire girl's gaze lingered on him, frowning and furrowing her brows as if Felix was a puzzle piece that didn't fit into the puzzle. Then she blinked and turned back to Bendy and Alice. They continued to chat like he hadn't even said anything.

 

Well, he hadn't. But surely a small black cat with a cog tag collar would catch their attention?

 

He huffed in irritation.

 

_Strange cat,_ _I understand your frustration,_ Snowball chattered to him, floating away from her perch on Bendy's shoulder. She landed in front of him, a tiny puffball still, but now bigger from Felix's new perspective. _Sometimes the big people don't understand what we want. You've got to really get their attention sometimes! Bite their ankles, maybe?_

 

Felix's whiskers twitched in amusement. Snowball sounded like a child. He supposed that was fair. Hadn't Holly created her? Snowball hadn't been alive that long, he didn't think. It was a bit odd to be able to understand the dandehog just like that. If he hadn't become a domestic cat, he would have only ever heard her squeak and meep.

 

"I don't think biting their ankles would put me in their favor," Felix mused. The puffball of dandelion fluff tilted her head. Cute.

 

_But it gets their attention._ Her nose twitched. _Have we met before? You smell like Nice Cat. But also like that demon wheel._

 

"Nice Cat?" Felix questioned, tilting his head.

 

Snowball bobbed her head. _He's a big person. He has a funny smelling pouch._ She tilted her head, as if wondering what else to add about this "Nice Cat" character. _One time he had an eater after him._

 

"An… eater?" Some kind of monster, maybe?

 

Snowball shivered, her bristles raising. _Scary. Dark. Dangerous. It almost consumed him, Alpha and Little Dark!_

 

Felix tilted his head. Alpha? Did she use words like a canine? Did she think of the others as a pack? If so, then was her Alpha Holly, or someone else?

 

"Who is your Alpha?" Felix inquered. Snowball frowned at him.

 

_You are just like Figaro. He calls him the great man. He has many pouches in his pelt! His head is really great too._

 

Felix's ears pricked. Great man? His head? Of course, Cuphead! Snowball loved to run around the rim of his odd cup-shaped head and dunk into the magical liquid inside.

 

"You mean Cuphead?" Felix mewed. So Snowball called him Alpha for some reason, the griffin called him the man with powerful fingers, and Figaro (Felix had no idea that the kitten and Snowball had met) called him the great man. Stars, animals sure did have a lot of different names for people.

 

Snowball tilted her head at him. _Cuphead? What kind of name is that?_

 

Felix's whiskers twitched. "It's his name- the one the… big people call him. If you could speak, um, big people speak, he would respond to that name." Okay, Snowball called toons big people, but the griffin and dire wolf called them alpha people. Animal languages were so vast and inconsistent. He should have a notepad with him just to keep track.

 

Snowball blinked. _How do you know that?_

 

Felix smiled. "I used to be one of those big people. But now I'm a cat. My name is Felix."

 

_Mine is Snowball._ She leaned forward and sniffed him. _And you were? Did the demon wheel do this to you?_

 

"Demon wheel…" What had the griffin called it? Magic wheel? "We call that a cog. But I suppose in this case, it really is a dark, demonic wheel."

 

_A cog?_ Her teeth chattered. _You big people have weird names for things. Are you sure you're not making this up? Figaro was very full of himself._

 

Was that a cat comparison? Was that what that little kitten from the mountain that Cuphead had picked up was like? Full of himself?

 

"I can assure you I'm not making this up. Big people just have really strange words." Felix flicked his tail. "And the demon wheel- the cog- did do this to me. Sort of. Holly technically did, but she's under its influence."

 

Snowball's ears perked up and her bristles puffed out. _Holly? You've met Holly? I knew you vaguely smelt of her, but the demon wheel's scent was so strong and overpowering._

 

Felix nodded. "Yes. I want to help save her from the demon wheel." Why did Snowball call Holly Holly, but not any of the others by their names? Was it because holly was the name of a plant?

 

Snowball jumped a little bit, squeaking with joy. _Really? I've been waiting for the big people to save her, but they haven't yet! I'm very worried. Oh, strange cat, do you think you could help them? You used to be a big person- you can tell them to do the right things! They never listen to me when I warn them._

 

"I will, Snowball, I promise. I'll make sure the big people listen to your warnings too." If they had paid attention to the little puffball, could this catastrophe have been avoided?

 

_Thank you, strange cat! Felix! Maybe now the big people can save my mother._ Snowball twitched her nose, glancing back at the three toons as they discussed something or other. She gave them a scolding meep.

 

Felix's ears flicked in surprise, his eyes wide. His tail curled against his back. "Your mother?"

 

_Yes._ Snowball cocked her head. _Holly. But she's not okay because of the demon wheel right now. She's death Holly. You know that?_

 

Felix shook his head lightly. "Yes, yes, I do. Sorry, I just didn't expect- didn't think… I suppose that makes sense though. Mother… That's something to tell Holly after this whole fiasco is over…" He mumbled under his breath. What would she think of that?

 

_'She's death Holly,'_ Snowball's words repeated in his head. _'I'm not the old Holly, and I never will be again.'_ Holly's voice whispered in his head. How would… the current Holly react to Snowball calling her mom? Indifference? Sick curiosity? A morbid sense of amusement? He didn't want to think about it.

 

He didn't have to either. Bendy, Alice and the vampire had started moving, walking towards a ditch beside the cracked road. Felix scrambled after them, wishing he had paid attention to their conversation and been up to date on what they were doing. Snowball caught onto his ear, nestling on top of his head and meeping joyously as he sped after the 'big people'. He stepped into stride beside them. Bendy glanced down at him.

 

"Why do we always end up with a stray cat on our adventures?"

 

Alice raised a puzzled eyebrow, silently asking what he meant. Bendy just shrugged, and said, "Long story."

 

Felix's whiskers curled in amusement. He understood the joke. They did have a habit of picking up some stray feline, only this time, he was that stray feline. How ironic.

 

Once again, the vampire sent him that confounded look, like he had suddenly grown two heads. Then, she shrugged it off and continued to walk quietly, scanning the area for danger.

 

What was her deal? Why did she seem to be the suspicious one rather than Alice and Bendy? Was there something she knew that they didn't?

 

The walked on in anxious silence, watching for danger, all of their muscles tense. Bendy and Felix were both limping, and Alice’s breathing was raspy and uneven. The vampire and Snowball were in good health, but still tense and dirty.

 

Felix was surprised that nothing came out to attack them. The streets were littered with monsters and creatures, wild and free, and most certainly starving for a meal. So why hadn’t anything else approached them? He could feel and smell a darkness in the air, a different scent than the storm above or the rot below. Something was shielding the monsters away from them. But what? Holly’s magic? Why would she help them?

 

Because the cog twisted her mind. It warped her thoughts. Who really knew if her reason now would be the same as later.

 

Felix’s eyes caught on a large eagle as it soared through the sky, screeching. He tensed for a moment, before calming as the eagle passed, diving down and snatching something up in its talons in the distance.

 

Wait, no. He shouldn’t be calm about that. That was an innocent toon, most likely. That eagle, one of Holly’s pets, was hunting down unfortunate citizens, _killing them_. He should be upset about that. Angry, even. He should stop that no matter what it took!

 

Yet, he couldn’t feel any anger rising within him, only relief. Relief that it wasn’t them. That it wasn’t him or Bendy or Alice or Mugman or whoever else that had been hunted. Were those his cat instincts wanting him to survive? Or was that just his normal mind? Maybe he was just exhausted, and that’s why he couldn’t find it in himself to be wrathful.

 

Well, whatever it was, at least he felt unsettled. That was a comfort. Caution and fear kept a cat on his toes and alive.

 

Bendy came to a stop, the others pausing with him. He gazed between the distorted, wrecked buildings, squinting. “That’s the hospital,” he murmured.

 

The vampire blinked, opening her mouth for a second, before she shut it, thinking better of whatever she was going to say. A mix of curiosity and confusion was on her face.

 

“Should we head over there?” Alice asked.

 

“Seems like our best bet,” Bendy replied. “If nobody’s there, we can at least rummage the area for supplies.”

 

“Hospitals are the Surface’s healing centers, right?” The vampire girl asked timidly.

 

“Uh, yeah, why?” Bendy tilted his head at her, brow raised.

 

She shrugged, face flushing slightly. “Not really a reason. It’s just, I’ve never been to one before. Mother was a fan of home remedies and Halloween Town has Sally and the doctor. We’re not supposed to go in them- as a rule, I guess. Scaring patients could give them heart attacks.”

 

“Yeah, you’re not really supposed to scare patients?” Bendy responded, tone raising a pitch in puzzlement. “Why would your town do that?”

 

“It’s uh- Halloween Town. It’s kind of our whole thing; scary, terrifying, horrifying, you know? I-I don’t know how else to explain it. I’ve never had to before? This is, uh, this is kinda my first time talking to… non-Halloween Townees?” She raised her hands, waving them slightly. “‘In our town of Halloween’, that’s our motto. Song. A part of our song.” She cringed at her own actions, voice cracking. “Yeah…”

 

Bendy and Alice traded looks, the demon’s tail twitching. “Well, you’re not very scary. No offense.”

 

She smiled sheepishly, shrugging. “I know. I can be, but I’m more of the… I help the others scare people. Like, with Helgamine and Zeldaborne, I tell them how a group of Trick-or-Treaters get along, and they use illusions of those people to fool the kids." She smiled like she was recalling an entertaining memory. "Ah, it's always so fun. Especially the lovers!" She giggled, placing a hand over her mouth. "They always scream for one another, weeping like there's no tomorrow."

 

They all stared at her, eyes wide, both horrified and confused by what had cone out of the timid girl's mouth. She immediately winced, folding in on herself.

 

"Sorry- it slipped out- I mean, that's just…. That's not normal, is it? To you, I mean. Normal for me." She chuckled dryly. "It's- It's only scaring, I promise. No killing, no maiming! Only rulebreakers do those, like- like Oogie Boogie, and the Pumpkin King keeps him under control. I _swear_ I'm not- I'm not like a creepy murderer or something, it's just… always Halloween in our town."

 

Bendy hesitantly answered, "Yeah, I think we got that part." He traded a wary glance with Alice.

 

"I believe you aren't going to harm us. You've helped us so far, haven't you?" Alice asked, eyes betraying her distrust, although her small smile was bright and warm.

 

The vampire nodded eagerly. "Yes! I promise I won't hurt you. That's not the Halloween-style.”

 

“Okay, well,” Alice glanced back at the distant hospital, “we better get moving. The less time we waste, the better.” Bendy and the vampire girl nodded in agreement.

 

Felix’s whiskers twitched. He’d like to visit this “Halloween Town” one day, after this whole ordeal was over and done with. They seemed to have a fascinatingly bizarre culture. Were they open to visitors? The way the girl talked made it seem like they didn’t get any tourists. Was it some place that required magic to get into?

 

Snowball chattered, a light whisper that sounded loud so close to his ear. _What were the big people talking about? I caught most of their words, but they’re so long and complicated! You followed everything, right, strange cat?_

 

“Yes. They were talking to the vampire girl about her town,” Felix mewed to the dandehog, trotting after the ‘big people’. Being a small cat, he had to pick up the pace to keep up with their rather leisure stroll.

 

Snowball cocked her head. _Vampire? What’s that?_

 

“It’s what the….” How would an animal describe her? They seemed to latch onto their defining features. “The girl with the fangs is.”

 

_Oh!_ Snowball’s ears perked up. _You mean Tiny Fangs._

 

Curious, Felix jerked his head towards Bendy. “Do you know what Bendy is?”

 

_Bendy? Is that Little Dark’s big person name?_ Snowball blinked. _He has fangs too. Is he a vampire like Tiny Fangs?_

 

Felix suppressed a rumble of laughter. Little Dark? Bendy would have a fit if he learned Snowball called him that. “No, he’s not a vampire. He’s a demon. You mentioned demons before, when speaking about the cog. The demon wheel. So you know what it is as an adjective?”

 

Snowball stared at him uncomprehendingly. _Now you’re using complicated big people words._

 

“Nevermind. Do you know what Alice is?” He gestured to the angel. Snowball pondered for a moment.

 

_Well, she looks similar to Tiny Fangs except the fur on her head is longer and darker, and she doesn’t have fangs… But if Little Dark has fangs and isn’t a vampire, then maybe Light Lady isn’t a vampire just because she looks similar to Tiny Fangs?_

 

“Light Lady is an angel. Your… little creature name for her is quite fitting.” He tilted his head. “Can you feel her light aura?” He could, now that he focused on it. His cat senses picked up on it easily. It felt sort of like warm sunlight in a shaded forest. If he was just a simple domestic cat, he definitely would have dubbed her Light Lady.

 

Snowball squeaked out a yes.

 

Felix padded after Bendy, Alice and the vampire, explaining to Snowball about the different species and groups that 'big people' could be. She listened with perked ears, commenting on how odd big people were often.

 

Bendy and Alice approached the hospital warily, Tiny Fangs shying away, staying in the rubble of a nearby house. No monsters attacked them, which seemed to put them on edge even more. Felix watched a panther eye them hungrily, but when its gaze caught on Felix, it tilted its head, confusion glittering in its dark eyes. Why did the cat radiate an intimidating aura despite looking so meek, it's gaze asked.

 

Felix blinked and glanced up at Snowball. "Snowball, is there anything odd about me or my presence?"

 

The dandehog, who was cleaning her bristles, paused. Her teeth chattered in a so-so manner. _You reek of the demon wheel's horrid stench._

 

"Is that intimidating? The demon wheel... er, cog's scent?"

 

She flicked her ears. _The darkness is but you're not, strange cat._

 

Felix hummed, pondering. Was it just from being around the cog for so long, or did Holly have something to do with his new dark scent? Did it come with his new domestic cat body, or was it something else?

 

He trotted after the trio, following at their heels. A new smell made his nose twitch. It smelt like… stars, it was weird to think it like he was, but he'd describe it as the scent of big people, different from the roaming creatures and monsters including Snowball. Multiple. And a few were closer than others.

 

He tensed up, a growl building in his throat as he puffed up and wound around Bendy's legs. The demon almost tripped over him, but it did the trick: he was alerted. He glanced around, wondering what had the cat so alarmed.

 

Felix didn't even know what triggered him to react that way. He just relied on his cat instincts.

 

Bendy and Alice surveyed the surroundings while Tiny Fangs started to back away, trying to hide in the shadows. Snowball meeped and floated into the air, moving towards a hole that had been clawed into the hospital's walls.

 

A dog lunged out of the hole, barking and snapping at Snowball, it's collar hanging loosely around its neck. Felix rushed forward, lashing his claws out at the dog, hissing while Snowball scrambled onto his head. The hound opened his jaws, lunging forward. For a moment, the dog changed into the dire wolf, long fangs and slobber, and Felix jerked backwards, fear forcing him into a defensive and submissive stance.

 

Unfortunately, where the dire wolf would have backed off with a satisfied, smug grin, the dog was set on drawing blood. He jumped forward again, fangs snapping into Felix's shoulder. Snowball meeped, scolding the dog for harming him, saying Felix was a good cat.

 

Bendy appeared beside him, grabbing the dog by its collar and yanking it away. Alice scooped up Felix, smudging her glove in his blood as she gently ran her hand over his shoulder. She let out a sigh of relief.

 

"They aren't deep."

 

Felix flinched as she cradled him, being reminded of how Holly had held him when she stabbed his hind leg with the peryton's antlers.

 

"Copper!" A deep voice yelled. The dog halted, snarling at Bendy. A man ran out of the hole, followed by a woman in a nurse's outfit. He tensed up as he saw what his dog was attacking- a demon. His eyes flickered briefly to Alice (thankfully she had her halo hidden by now), Felix and Snowball, then caught on Tiny Fangs, who had only half-hidden herself, having stopped when the dog had attacked Felix.

 

The woman took one look at Bendy and Alice and gasped. Felix thought it was out of fear, like the man who clearly thought Bendy was going to kill him. But then she said, "Your wounds! Oh, we hardly need more patients. How did this happen?"

 

She strutted forward with confidence, the man reaching out to stop her, grabbing her hand.

 

"That's a-"

 

"Demon? So? I've seen him at this hospital before. Hasn't harmed anybody but himself," the nurse responded evenly.

 

"But- This chaos! The monsters! What if it's-"

 

"Oh, shush you. Let me do my job." The woman jerked her hand out of the man's grasp, ignoring his protests. She walked over to Bendy, shooing the dog away. The canine whined, backing up and glancing at his owner, conflicted on if he should listen to the nurse or hold his ground against the dark creature for his owner's sake. The dog could smell his owner's fear and hesitance.

 

"How did you get these wounds, little man? You seem to have bandaged them up- not well, it seems," the nurse inquered.

 

Bendy frowned. "I'm not little." But he didn't seem to have enough energy to argue, because he continued with, "And from various monsters."

 

She eyed him skeptically. "It would help if you're more specific. Some of those starfallen monsters out here are poisonous, venomous, can light you on fire, drown you, whatever." She sighed. "I suppose I should examined you and your friend inside." She turned to Alice. "Come along. And how is that kitty? I do hope that mutt didn't get him too bad."

 

"He's fine, ma'am. Just a little scratch," Alice replied, petting Felix's head.

 

"That's good. We don't have enough supplies to spare for a kitten." The nurse led them inside, the man and his dog scampering ahead and away from the demon. Alice paused at the hole, glancing back at Tiny Fangs.

 

"Valentine? Are you coming?" The angel called out to the vampire. Tiny Fangs flinched before she composed herself and walked towards Alice.

 

"Uhhhhh, yeah, sure…."

 

"If you don't want to, you don't have too," Alice reassured her.

 

"No, no, it's fine. It's just… No, I'm good. I'll come with you two." The vampire girl smiled at her, although her eyes betrayed her confliction.

 

"Alright, well, if you say so." Alice turned back around and entered the hospital, Tiny Fangs trailing after her.

 

Snowball inquired if Felix was okay, settling down on Alice's arm and gazing down at him with concern. Felix answered with a short mew, telling her he was fine.

 

_That dog was so rude!_ Snowball chattered her teeth angrily. Felix made a shrugging motion, wincing a bit as his wound stung.

 

"He was just trying to defend his owner, and we scared him," Felix responded. Snowball huffed, saying the dog should know better, but she let the conversation go after that.

 

The nurse had led them to a more secluded section of the hospital, with overturned tables and beds. Broken glass had been piled up into one corner beside a trash can that had been smashed and rendered unusable. They had passed countless rooms and hallways that all contained wounded patients, struggling survivors and desperate doctors. The hospital was a wreck, but it seemed to have become a safe haven in Toon Town. Felix prayed Holly would never attack this place.

 

Alice placed him down on a counter. She grabbed some bandages from her pockets and gently applied them to Felix's bite wounds.

 

"Thank you," Felix meowed to her. He sighed as the angel, of course, didn't understand him. She just smiled and turned to the nurse.

 

"You have bandages on you, miss? How much? Any to spare for the hospital? We're in desperate need of more supplies. We've used so much already and everything else is broken or lost amongst the chaos," the nurse said hurriedly.

 

Alice blinked. "Oh! I do have plenty to spare. And some medicine as well." She pulled out more bandages, painkillers and ibuprofen.

 

"Thank you!" The nurse cried in relief.

 

Alice smiled as she handed the items to the nurse, who stashed them securely in a cabinet. "You're welcome. But you really should be thanking Valentine. She's the one who found all of it." She gestured to the vampire, who cringed, ducking her head down and blushing. Her expression was one of hard confliction, as if she thought she didn't deserve the praise. There was a wobbly frown on her face that she tried to hide.

 

"Ah, it's not-"

 

"Well, thank you too, Miss Valentine! Oh, if you don't mind me asking. Do you think you could find more supplies? It's alright if you can't." The nurse cusped her hands together, looking at Tiny Fangs pleadingly.

 

"I wasn't planning on-" She cut herself off, eyes flickering. "I mean, I-I guess I could, but…" Her hands messed with the edge of her shirt. "I wouldn't mind."

 

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" The nurse beamed with happiness. Tiny Fangs took a step back, frowning at the nurse's bright smile with, dare Felix say, disgust? Or was it just perplexedness? No, it was a mix of the two. Maybe even some annoyance? Hmmm. Felix would have to say she looked more puzzled than anything, but if one looked closer, you could see signs of disgust and irritation.

 

Tiny Fangs smiled, forced and uncertain. "You're welcome? I- um, I'll go head out right now, then, I suppose."

 

"Oh, no, no. Wait a minute. Let me give you all check-ups first."

 

"Ah, I don't have any-"

 

"Nonsense," the nurse cut Tiny Fangs off.

 

Felix stopped listening at that point. The nurse began to examine and bandage them all back up, scolding them slightly and questioning some of their more bizarre wounds.

 

He leaped off the counter and slinked over to a slightly ajar door, nudging it open. His nose was bombarded with too many smells. The metallic stang of blood, the harshness of chemicals, the sour scent of infections, the disgusting stench of sweat, the thickness of distant smoke, the smell of rot that almost made him barf, and so many different, distinct scents from a multitude of toons all stuck in this one building. It made his head throb. He wanted to claw off his nose, it was so horrible.

 

He glanced around at what he could see. Two people were chatting quietly, one's side completely bandaged, the other bruised on his face. A few doctors and nurses hustled from room to room. That man and his dog were turning a corner out of Felix's sight. As for decor, a potted plant had been smashed in the hallway, shards littered everywhere along with dark soil that seemed to have been recently watered. A plastic bag had gotten caught on a ceiling light, one of two that seemed to be working in the hallway. The others were unlit or cracked, and another had been completely pulled from the ceiling, laying shattered on the ground. There was a total of eight rooms, including Felix's, in this hallway, and he could see three more in an adjacent hallway.

 

He slipped out completely, glancing at the room number and committing it to memory. He padded down to the end of the hallway, glancing around the corner. More hallways and rooms, more destruction and scattered objects, and a few toons hanging around. His ears flicked up as he heard a voice murmuring in the distance. He crept down the hallway, poking his head into a round room. A stressed lady sat behind a desk, frantically writing on papers as nurses appeared and handed her information before bolting off to deal with patients. Felix winced with sympathy. So much chaos to manage… When would this nightmare end?

 

Felix gazed around the room, ears pricked. When his eyes caught onto two familiar toons speaking, one a fox and the other a young wolf, he darted over, under the feet of a doctor, who stumbled and fell.

 

"Sorry!" He called out, even though all the doctor would hear was a meow.

 

He stopped in front of the fox and wolf, placing his paws on Finley's leg.

 

"Finley! Boris! Oh, thank the stars you're here. Where's Mugman? Is he okay?" He mewed out rapidly.

 

Finley and Boris stared down at the mewling cat like he was insane.

 

"Uh, who's pet got loose?" Finley stated, tilting his head. One of his ears were ripped, lightly blackened around the edges of his soft flesh. Like how Felix's scar was on his hind leg.

 

"Finley! Your ear. Please tell me they have some sort of peryton poison antidote here," he worried, ears falling.

 

Boris knelt down beside Felix. "His tag…"

 

Felix mewed loudly, afraid for Boris to finish the sentence. He leaped away from Finley and head-butted Boris in his arm. He grabbed his sleeve gingerly between his fangs. He tugged gently.

 

"Follow me!" He begged. "I know where Bendy and Alice are. Ah! Snowball was right- You big people really don't listen to small creatures." He cried in exasperation. He let go of Boris and turned in a circle, meowing obnoxiously just to hold their attention.

 

"I think something's wrong with this cat," Finley stated, raising an eyebrow. He glanced over at the desk lady, as if contemplating to ask her to deal with the cat problem.

 

"Should we ask around to see if anyone lost a cat?" Boris asked.

 

No! Felix yowled at them, darting away and then darting back. Follow him! Was it really that hard?

 

"I have never seen a cat act so weird and wild. Do you think it's part dog?" Finley mused.

 

Boris tilted his head, one ear flopping slightly. "...I think it wants us to follow it."

 

Yes! Felix nodded eagerly, raising his tail and purring lightly.

 

Finley looked slightly stunned. "Was that a yes? Did that cat just nod at us?"

 

"I've seen weirder," Boris murmured. He stood up, following Felix as the cat led him away. The cat led him down the corridors, pausing when he reached his door, sitting down and curling his tail against his back. He waited for Finley, who was following at a slower pace, to catch up. When the fox caught up, Felix stood up, nudging the door all the way open with his nose.

 

"Bendy!" Boris cried, eyes lighting up immediately, like a kid on Christmas day. He rushed into the room, hugging the demon with a wagging tail.

 

"Ow!" Bendy yelped, wincing. He blinked, startled. "Boris?!"

 

"Sorry, bro." Boris grinned sheepishly, releasing Bendy from his surprise hug. His tail slowed down by a fraction.

 

"I thought black cats were supposed ta be bad luck," Finley mused, glancing down at Felix with a raised brow as he walked into the room.

 

"Finley!" Bendy smiled at the fox.

 

"Hey Bendy, Alice," he nodded to the two of them. He grinned. "How's life treating ya?"

 

Bendy groaned, glancing down at his bandages. "Not well."

 

"How did you find us?" Alice asked.

 

Finley nodded to Felix as he padded into the room, stopping beside the fox. "This cat led us here."

 

"Really?" Alice blinked. She knelt down beside Felix, reaching out towards him. "Well, thanks, kitty!" She scratched his ear. At first, Felix flinched away, but then she hit _the spot_ and he broke out into rumbling purrs, leaning into her touch.

 

When she stopped, Felix practically pouted, mewling for her to continue. But the angel stood up, leaving the poor cat on his own.

 

_You're weird, strange cat,_ Snowball meeped from atop Bendy's shoulder.

 

Felix flicked his ears up, straightening his posture, feeling hot beneath his fur. It wasn't _his_ fault a scratch behind the ear felt so good- It was his cat instincts!

 

"Where's Mugs?" Bendy asked.

 

"Is he okay?" Alice added.

 

Finley nodded. “He had to get his stitches fixed. I’ll go fetch him.” The fox turned and left the room. Felix was tempted to go after him. Did he know he was poisoned? He didn’t seem poisoned. Felix had been burning from his ear tips to his tail tip. He felt miserable. Finley looked fine and dandy. Was it because his wound hadn’t been as deep as Felix’s? It was only a chunk of his ear. Maybe he hadn’t had as much poison in his system. Or had he been stabbed by a younger or weaker peryton? How did peryton’s venom work? Did it have to do with the difference between a toon’s immune system and a cat’s immune system?

 

Maybe he wasn’t even poisoned at all.

 

Maybe Holly lied to him.

 

But why? Why would she lie to him? Sending him here, to the others- what purpose would it have? No, Finley had to be poisoned. There was no other explanation. Was there? Nothing else made sense. Nothing else had reasons that connected together.

 

Felix’s head began to throb.

 

“Who’s this?” Boris nodded toward Tiny Fangs, who was cowering in a corner since Boris and Finley had entered. She flushed and fidgeted, messing with her shirt sleeve.

 

Alice smiled warmly at the vampire girl. “That’s Valentine. She’s been helping us out. She provided us with medical supplies.”

 

“Oh. Thank you, then!” Boris grinned at her, wagging his tail.

 

Tiny Fangs both flinched and smiled brightly, a confliction of apprehension and gratification. “It was no problem, really...”

 

_Beta!_ Snowball suddenly meeped, jumping off of Bendy’s shoulder and floating over to the doorway. From it appeared Finley, Mugman, and that bunny nurse. Mugman blinked as the dandehog landed on the rim of his head, dancing around with joy.

 

“Beta? That’s what you call Mugman?” Why did she call the cup brothers Alpha and Beta?

 

Snowball squeaked her confirmation, too excited to question Mugman’s odd “big person name”.

 

“What do you call Fin-... the fox and the wolf pup?” Felix asked curiously.

 

_Big Ears and Nice Beast,_ Snowball answered, rubbing her bristles while sitting beside Mugs’s straw.

 

The others had begun chatting while Felix questioned Snowball. They seemed to be discussing what happened to each other when they had forcefully gotten split up. Mugs, Finley, and Boris had been found by Fanny- the bunny nurse, and her friend Dovil, while Alice and Bendy had been chased by that griffin. And Bendy had been mowed down by unicorns, although he didn't seem eager to share that certain piece of information.

 

Felix squirmed at the mention of those unicorns. He remembered waiting with baited breath as they kept trying to stab Bendy. The dire wolf had held him down, not letting him rush out and help. What could a small cat do against large horses of light anyway?

 

Then the dire wolf had intervened. Felix had been so relieved. Then, of course, came the blatant set-up where the dire wolf attacked Bendy, allowing Felix to come in and save him. Holly had said it would get them to trust him more easily then some random cat stalking them. But, Felix had been worried the dire wolf would actually harm Bendy… He had threatened to do so, right before he left, that if Felix messed up any of his Alpha's plans, he would tear the demon limb from limb and rip Felix's tail off.

 

Felix didn't think the wolf would actually be able to tear Bendy's limbs off but… Holly would find a way to fulfill the wolf's promise, he was sure of it. What if she got the doll back again and ripped Bendy's limbs right off?

 

Felix shivered at the thought of it. He would never, _never_ let that happen. No matter what Holly forced him to do, he would never resort to harming Bendy, via the doll or not. He didn't want to harm Boris, or Alice, or Finley or anyone else either. He wanted to help them.

 

Felix's ears pricked as he heard his name.

 

"Cuphead and Felix are still missing…" Bendy was saying.

 

He was right here! And he was sure Cup was somewhere in Holly's clutches. He just needed some time to find him…

 

Felix meowed loudly. How could he tell them he was right here?

 

Paranoia rushed through him, and he glanced around. That's right. Even here, he was being watched. How could he forget about that? He had to be careful…

 

They glanced at him, but gave him no thought. He was just some stray black cat to them. The only one who seemed suspicious of him was Tiny Fangs, and even then, it wasn't an "I know who you are" look, just a… "There's something weird about you" look.

 

...Why was he still calling the vampire Tiny Fangs? He knew her name was Valentine at this point… Well, it wasn't like the girl would ever find out he wasn't using her real name, and Tiny Fangs was catchier anyway.

 

"We should head back to the house. We don't know if Holly might go for them, and it's closer to her… I guess it's her base? That big castle thing," Finley suggested.

 

"My barrier will protect the house," Alice stated confidently.

 

"Maybe, but I'd feel better if I was there. I bet Sammy's freaking out."

 

"They all must be worried that we haven't come back yet. They don't know if we're safe or not," Bendy added.

 

"They might do something reckless," Mugs said.

 

"Hold on," the bunny nurse interjected. "You all want to go _back_ into fray? Into all that danger! You just got your injuries bandaged! This is why you all keep getting worse instead of better- Do _any_ of you know what 'rest' is?!?"

 

"But-" Bendy tried to argue.

 

" _And_ it's a waste of good supplies! If you all are just going to ruin our work again, what was the point? Other patients could have used those bandages! Right?" The bunny- wasn't her name Fanny, or something?- looked to the other nurse for support.

 

The woman blinked. "Um, I suppose it is. But they did bring us more supplies…"

 

"Still a waste of our time! You came to this hospital to get _healed_ , not waste our time and resources! All of you are staying here until your wounds are completely _healed_ , no buts about it!"

 

"But-" Again, cut off.

 

"NO BUTS!" She glared at the group. Eventually, they broke and all nodded. She huffed. "Good. Now, I have other patients to deal with. You better be here when I come back."

 

"Yes, Nurse Fanny," the chimed in unison.

 

There was silence for a moment as the other nurse left with Fanny.

 

Then, out of everyone there, Boris was the one to break it. "...We're gonna have to sneak out."

 

"What? Why?" Finley stared at the young wolf, startled.

 

Boris frowned. "I thought you wanted to go back to the house?"

 

"Well, yeah, but I didn't think _you'd_ be the one to suggest we sneak out. The nurse told us to stay here!" Finley said, tail swaying.

 

"Gotta agree, it's a bit odd you were the one to suggest sneaking out, bro," Bendy added.

 

"We _need_ to. Who else is going to stop Holly?" Boris looked down at his hands, frowning. "There's so many injured toons here, and countless more outside. If we let her go now, we might never find her. We might never save her."

 

_'What if it's too late?'_ Felix thought privately to himself, tail twitching.

 

"But… we all are too injured to fight her. We need rest," Alice murmured, fidgeting with her hair.

 

"We could rest at the house when we get there," Finley pointed out.

 

_'If we get there,'_ Felix thought, ear flicking.

 

"Someone could have died," Boris stated abruptly, tone somber. Everyone fell quiet, staring at the wolf.

 

"Wha-"

 

"How do we know someone hasn't died? In the nightmare that Toon Town's in right now- someone might be more than hurt. We need to prevent that- we need to… We have to stop Holly." Boris gazed up mournfully at them. No one responded, lost in their thoughts.

 

_'Oswald,'_ Felix remembered. Holly had sent him to a cave of man-eating spiders. Was he…? No. Surely he was still alive. He had his adorable bunny kids to come back to. He couldn't just- No. Felix refused to think about it.

 

"I- um, I don't, I don't know if my vote counts in this, but, um, I'd prefer to… leave the hospital," Tiny Fangs mumbled, shying away as she attracted attention to herself, blushing like mad.

 

"I think we're all voting on going back to the house," Finley sighed. He glanced at the others. "Right?"

 

Alice and Mugs nodded, while Bendy let out a weak "Yeah…"

 

"Right," Felix mewed, hoping his meow would count for something. At least they glanced at him.

 

Humorously, Bendy added, "Our stray cat friend agrees."

 

Felix's ears pricked happily. Yes! He had said it as a joke, but at least Bendy had understood Felix in _some_ way. That was reassuring.

 

"We could head through the hole Bendy, Valentine and I came into the hospital through. It doesn't seem to be as guarded," Alice said.

 

As the others discussed their escape plan, Felix slipped out, heading to the very hole they mentioned. He scrunched his nose at the acidic hospital stench, and gulped in the fresh air of outside. Well, as fresh as the air could be outside currently anyway. He preened his whiskers, adjusting to the outside. Then, he padded away from the hospital, closer to the rubble and crooked buildings. He stalked through the pathways with caution, ears pricked.

 

A low growl rudely welcomed him. Felix turned around, a ferocious muzzle of sharp fangs greeting him. He backed up slightly as the dire wolf threw a syringe full of pale dark liquid onto the ground.

 

_Mess this up,_ the canine growled. _Disobey my Alpha, kill that alpha person fox she wants alive, or attempt to run away, and I will have your intestines for my next meal._

 

Felix ducked his head, raising a paw submissively. The wolf snarled at him once more, making sure he got the memo, before turning and stalking away, disappearing around the corner with a bright flash of light. Gingerly, Felix picked up the needle between his teeth.

 

He slinked away from the crumbling buildings, skittishly avoiding a lurking panther and a snake that slithered between the wreckage. He wandered back into the hospital, quickly locating their room. He slipped back in, nervously hopping from paw to paw.

 

They were murmuring to each other, Finley, Bendy and Boris on one side while Alice and Mugs talked to Tiny Fangs on the other. Tiny Fangs bowed her head to them, excusing herself to go do what she promised the nurse lady and find some supplies. She walked towards the door looking relieved, glancing down briefly at Felix. She left the room with an inaudible sigh.

 

Felix padded up to Finley anxiously. How could he convince the fox to take the medicine? To inject a random needle into himself? Was it even worth it? Maybe the hospital had already healed him. Maybe Finley was fine. Maybe he was never poisoned. Maybe Felix didn’t need to give him the injection.

 

But what if Finley was poisoned?

 

What if he did die?

 

What if he died, and it was all Felix’s fault? Just like with Xedo’s burns and Mickey’s muteness? What if Felix failed again?

 

Felix pawed at Finley’s pants, mewing around the syringe. The fox glanced down at him, brow raised.

 

“What’s up, kitty?” He kneeled down and patted his head. “What have you got there?” Finley took the syringe out of Felix’s mouth. Felix meowed loudly and batted at Finley’s tattered ear, praying Finley could put the pieces together.

 

“What is it?” Boris asked, leaning over. Finley stood up, showing him the syringe.

 

“Dunno, some needle or somethin’.” Finley eyed it warily, along with Boris and Bendy.

 

“Did the cat pick it up somewhere around here?” Bendy asked.

 

Finley tilted his head, frowning. “I didn’t see anything laying around in here, even if it is trashed everywhere else in this building.”

 

“Huh, that’s weird,” Bendy murmured.

 

“Please,” Felix whispered to himself, watching as they debated over it. “It’s an antidote for peryton poison.” If only they could understand him.

 

_Poison? Doesn’t that kill?_ Snowball meeped, floating down and over to Felix, landing in front of him.

 

“Yes,” Felix responded. An idea shot through him. “Can you smell if he’s poisoned? Is that something you can do?” Animals had a knack for knowing when people were sick. Could Snowball tell if he was poisoned? It was far-fetched and outlandish, but Felix was willing for any type of confirmation.

 

_I thought his ear smelt kinda funny…_ Snowball tilted her head, bristles rising. Fear rose through Felix. So he was poisoned? Maybe? Or perhaps it had only infected his ear? Or maybe it was just a simple infection? That was an answer. Maybe he wasn’t poisoned. Maybe he wasn’t slowly dying.

 

Felix shook his head. He would never find solid ground- he would run himself in circles thinking like this. He had no way of knowing whether or not Finley was poisoned. He just had to trust Holly’s word.

 

And why would he trust her word?

 

Finley shrugged. “Well, guess we should just leave it here until a nurse comes around. Then we can ask ‘em what it is.” Finley laid the syringe down on the counter. Felix felt dread bubble within him. He forced it down. Finley probably wasn’t poisoned. It was just Holly getting to his head… She was just trying to use him to…

 

...to… what? What would that antidote even do to Finley? It had healed Felix… Could it go the opposite way? Could it hurt Finley if injected into him? But if that was true, how would Holly know that? So… Maybe Holly was telling the truth, and Finley was poisoned, or…

 

Felix didn’t know. Nothing made sense.

 

He curled up in the corner of the room, Snowball resting on top of him, as light as a dandelion. He would wait until night time, when they were going to sneak out of the hospital and back to the house. Until then, Felix would watch the clock tick down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is Finley poisoned? Who really knows... We can only hope Felix makes the right decision.
> 
> And [bunnilov3r1738](https://bunnilov3r1738.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr made me some AMAZING fanart of Felix and Bendy meeting! I cannot express how grateful and appreciative I am to them! Go check them out!!
> 
> Well, stay tuned for next chapter, 13: Hopelessness, thank you for reading, good luck, and good writing!


	13. Hopelessness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter... I'm conflicted on it. It's more just set-up for the events to come, so it's more filler than anything. I don't think I conveyed the emotions well enough, I wrote a majority of this during the night and didn't feel like rewriting it. At the same time, it does give you insight into some characters and their possible motives, and what they've been doing that others may not have noticed.
> 
> So, that being said: I hope you enjoy this chapter! Cause I'm sure the Questers really didn't have a fun time ;(

**Chapter Thirteen: Hopelessness**

 

Felix squirmed, putting weight on one paw and then another. Was he really going through with this? Was he really going to do this? Was he really going to listen to Holly’s instructions? Listen to the dire wolf’s threats? Was he really going to inject a syringe into Finley while he slept?

 

On one hand… paw… On one paw, listening to Holly was perhaps the worst decision he could make. She was evil, twisted and corrupted by the cog. Surely, everything she planned would benefit her, and her alone. This was all apart of some evil scheme.

 

But, on the other paw, if Finley was poisoned, and Felix had the antidote, and he did  _ nothing _ , then what would happen? Would Finley die? Would… Would Holly get upset and sic the dire wolf on Felix, in addition to Finley’s death?

 

There was a catastrophe waiting on both ends. Either he played right into Holly's hands, or Finley died.

 

...And Finley dying was the higher stake.

 

Felix picked the syringe up with his fangs, silently padding closer to Finley as he napped. A quick prick is all it would take.

 

He lifted the syringe above Finley's ear, watching as his chest rose and fell rhythmically. Felix's heart beat rapidly.

 

_ 'Back out, back out, this isn't right,'  _ his mind shouted at him.  _ 'You don't just inject a toon with strange liquid while they sleep.' _

 

He leaned down, gently maneuvering the tip of the needle into a nerve on his ear. Using his paw, he pressed down on the top of the syringe.

 

Everything in Felix started screaming, squirming and wiggling with uncertainty, and fear, and apprehension.

 

He pulled the needle out, waiting for Finley to start shrieking, or writhing in agony, or jerk awake panting, misery marring his face, or maybe he'd just stop breathing.

 

But he didn't. He just flicked his ear and continued breathing, in and out, in and out.

 

Felix dropped the syringe to the ground. Nothing happened. Was that good or bad? Would he die or live?

 

Felix took a deep breath in, then exhaled. He glared down at the syringe. Burning with confusion, worry, and  _ disgust _ , he grabbed the syringe again. It held a smaller amount of dark-shaded antidote in it now, but he hadn't used much. He turned around, padding over to a tipped over trash can. He tossed the syringe inside. Holly and the dire wolf would provide him with another one anyway.

 

He didn't want to to look at it anymore. He didn't want to continue in circles, wondering if he was right or wrong. He had made his choice, and he would live with the consequences.

 

He curled up in the corner.

 

When Boris slipped in and woke Finley up, and they all regrouped for the sneak out, Felix’s mood had calmed down, his anxieties pushed below the surface of his emotions.

 

Sneaking out was surprisingly easy. The hospital didn’t have any guards set up, seeing as everyone was either a doctor or a patient. Everyone was resting. Additionally, the ruins, debris and scattered litter left the place a mess where no one knew what was happening. The group made it out without any accident.

 

That just left the problem of locating where the house was. Tiny Fangs remembered everything from the hospital to where she had met Bendy and Alice, but they had no idea if that was close to the house or not. Luckily, Alice pointed out that they could use her magic-sensing map once they got near the house. Since the castle building was in range of the house, if Tiny Fangs led them close to it, Alice could figure the rest of the way back. So, that was the plan.

 

Felix trotted at the heels of the others, putting in more energy to keep up after them. His smaller stature left him falling behind easily, along with the rubble and dead vines in the way that Felix had to dodge around or climb over whereas the others merely had to step over them.

 

Panting, Felix was grateful when they stopped for a minute, letting Tiny Fangs scout out the area just to make sure they were heading the right direction. He licked his paw and rubbed it over his ear, cleaning off the dust and grime stuck to his pelt. It tasted disgusting, but it felt nice to give himself something productive to do while he caught his breath. Snowball landed beside him, squeaking a hello and curling up beside him while they waited. He twitched his tail as a greetings towards her.

 

_ You could get one of the big people to carry you, you know,  _ Snowball informed him, cleaning her bristles.

 

Felix opened his mouth to respond when a dark shadow was cast over them. Fur bristling, he jumped to his paws and stared upwards, watching that large eagle from before fly leisurely through the darkened, stormy sky. Snowball meeped and hid under his belly, peaking out and staring up at it as well. The rest of the group gazed upwards too, watching the eagle as it perched upon a brick building, staring down at them with glistening beady black eyes.

 

When it didn’t attack them, they began murmuring to each other.

 

“This is the second time-”

 

“Is this like an omen or warning from Holly, or-”

 

“What does it want?”

 

“Is it gonna attack or just stare at us like some dumb bird?”

 

Felix lashed his tail, his ears flattening against his head as the eagle stared right at him, indifferent and aloof. After an agonizing staring contest, Felix warily stepped forward, intending to get closer to the group. But the eagle flared its magnificent wings and took to the air, gliding towards another building that it perched upon, further in the distance. It stared back at them, only it’s large beak noticeable among the darkness, fog and mist.

 

Tiny Fangs slipped back into the group, glancing at the distant bird. “Erm-”

 

“Where do we need to go?” Bendy asked the vampire girl. For a moment, she didn’t answer, then she weakly pointed in the direction of the eagle.

 

“Uh oh,” Boris mumbled, tail drooping. “That’s not good.”

 

“Well, the bird was at the castle-thing before, so maybe it’s a sign we’re going in the right direction?” Finley proposed with a sway of his tail.

 

“Yeah…” Mugs muttered. “But it’s also a sign Holly knows where we are and where we’re heading.”

 

“Maybe we’re overthinking it- Maybe the bird’s just following us and Holly has nothing to do with it?” Alice suggested weakly.

 

Felix glanced into the shadows of the alleyways as the others debated amongst each other. Dark eyes stared back at him, accompanied by a fanged snout. The dire wolf swayed his tail, raising his head slightly. He said nothing, turned and padded off into the alleys, heading in the direction of the eagle.

 

Well, the instructions were clear: follow the bird.

 

Felix stepped over to the group. He mewed lightly, pawing gently at Bendy's pants. Gaining the demon's attention, he walked in the direction of the large eagle, adding a hop to his step. He kinked his tail over his back, meowing and nodding towards the bird. The others stared at the cat blankly.

 

Stars, how hard was it to communicate an idea with them?

 

Snowball meeped and merrily hopped onto his shoulder, ready to go with him.

 

Bendy tilted his head, puzzled look on his face. "Uh, I think the puffball and the cat want us to follow the bird."

 

Felix let out a yowl, ears perking, tail high. Snowball joined in with her own affirmative meep.

 

"I'm pretty sure our cat is actually a dog," Finley mused, flicking his ear. "I mean, it's persistently and loyally followed us everywhere, and now it's trying to guide us?"

 

"Well, I'm up for following the cat-dog," Bendy responded. Boris nodded, along with the skittish Tiny Fangs who seemed eager to stop being the one the others relied on.

 

"Snowball likes the cat, so I'm up for it, too, " Alice said.

 

That being agreed upon, the group followed the direction of the bird. Anytime they got close, it raised its wings and took flight, perching on a new building until it got to the castle. By that point, Alice’s magic sensing map picked up the barrier she had set around the house, and they followed the map back to the house with very little hiccups. They only had to change course once due to unicorns. The whole time, they all murmured and debated hotly over the eagle as they left it behind.

 

Did Holly send it? If so, why did she send it? Surely it could only mean something awful was heading their way. Under no circumstances would Holly help them.

 

Felix was inclined to agree. Holly may say she’s “helping” them, but really, any action she took was corrupted and evil. The cog made sure of that.

 

But, the sight of the house, safe and as intact as it could be, relieved them of their worries. Felix let out a meow of relief. Being in a familiar place, surrounded by familiar faces, was warming. Even if looking at Xedo's half-scorched face made him wince and watching Mickey nod instead of speak made his insides squirm.

 

He curled up on the armrest of couch, Snowball laying on top of him after greeting the others warmly. Fireball eyed him warily, the deerhawk cautious and uncertain. But he let Felix be… For now.

 

And for now, Felix the Cat was content with that.

 

\---------

 

"But we can't just do nothing. Every minute we waste, the cog corrupts Holly further and further. Who knows how long it is until we  _ can't  _ save her anymore?" Boris argued, placing his paw down on the table that Alice had rolled her map out on. Patches lit up all over the parchment, a hubbub of magical activity thrown all over the place chaotically.

 

"What are we supposed to do?" Finley replied, exasperatedly throwing his hands in the air. "I wanna go out there and save her  _ right now _ , but we can't even find her!"

 

Alice's eyes scanned over the map, desperately trying to identify which one might be Holly and the cog's signal. She remained silent, her lips pursed thinly in concentration.

 

“Do we have some way of leading her to us instead? She has to come for us eventually, since she’s trapped in Toon Town because of Alice’s barrier,” Bendy suggested. Mickey perked up in the corner of the room and began searching for a pencil and paper.

 

“Playing sitting ducks doesn’t make me feel any safer,” Finley murmured, crossing his arms. He winced and touched his tattered ear. Sammy stuck closely to his side, tail puffed up as he eyed the fox’s ear with concern. He had freaked out learning Finley had been injured, but Finley assured him it didn’t hurt all that much, and that it looked cool too. The edges of it had blackened, darker than yesterday when they had stayed at the hospital. The nurses had said he was fine before, but Boris kept noticing the fox pawing at it, frowning and flinching like it still stung.

 

Mickey had found a piece of paper and began writing on it.  _ She came after the doll,  _ he wrote.

 

Bendy frowned. “I don’t wanna risk that thing again. Last time she had it in her clutches, it didn’t end so well.” She had attempted to break all his limbs, burn and drown him. Boris remembered it with a chilled shiver. If Black Hat hadn’t done whatever he had done, his brother could have very well died.

 

Mickey dropped his ears, glancing at Xedo. He and his brother, along with Fireball, sat on the couch, observing quietly. Snowball and the cat they had picked up were curled up together on the arm rest, the cat watching with pricked ears.

 

“And when you guys tried to use it as bait before, it, uh, didn’t work too well either…” Boris added, his voice a murmur. Mickey was permanently mute, Xedo was nearly completely burned on one side, and Mr. Felix was gone too, with no signs of where he went. Boris gave the mouse a sad glance. “Sorry, Mr. Mickey.”

 

“We could use the map instead,” Mugs suggested. “She’ll want that too, since it’s connected to the parts. Or Bendy or Boris could act as bait, since they’re the only ones who can see the map.”

 

Bendy stiffened beside Boris, scowling. “No. Cuss that, we are  _ not  _ using Boris as bait. She already kidnapped him once, we don’t need her to do it again.”

 

She had, but Boris was sure he could handle being bait. He wouldn’t be runed asleep this time. Although, he didn’t know if they should use anyone or anything as bait for now.... It would be too risky.

 

“We could try the castle,” Alice piped up, not glancing away from her map, scowling at it slightly. “She was there before and seemed ready to defend it, sending those deer to attack us. I’ve seen the cog’s magic pop up once or twice there too. It’s not there now, but I can’t find it anywhere else.”

 

The cat on the couch meowed, standing up and jumping off, running over to the table. It leaped on top of the table, placing a paw on Alice’s hand. Snowball followed the cat, meeping as she floated onto its back. The cat responded with a light mew, to which Snowball flicked her tiny ears, bristles twitching.

 

“The cat-dog votes for Alice’s plan,” Finley said humorously, tail swaying.

 

“The weird cat hasn’t lead us astray before. Besides, we haven’t come up with any better plan than Alice’s,” Bendy agreed. The others eventually put in their own agreements or comments. So, to the castle it was.

 

Boris glanced at the cat as it curled its tail around its paws, Snowball resting on its- his?- back. The cat was really… odd, to say the least. He had tagged along with them, refused to leave, and seemed to know what they were talking about. There was something about the cat that Boris just couldn’t quite put his finger on…

 

Red fussed over them briefly, but she gave up, realizing they were stubbornly going out into danger again anyway. The group had been decided on: Bendy, Boris, Mugs, Alice, Finley, Valentine, and Mickey would be going. The mouse insisted on it, seeing as it was only his throat that stung, and he retained no other major injuries. Cala had wanted to come too, but she still wasn't used to her legs and would only slow them down. It was rude to think, but it was true.

 

As for Valentine…. Boris didn’t know what to think of the vampire girl. Based on Bendy and Alice’s recollection, she had been nothing but helpful, plus she had also helped the hospital out by gathering some more supplies before they left. She seemed to have a knack for that, and remembering where things were amongst the chaos, and hiding. She didn’t seem all that scared of the danger outside, insisting that she knew half of the monsters out there, which was confirmed when Bendy told Boris that she had spoken to some weird zombie people who acted like they knew her.

 

But she seemed ansty around the wounded that had sought out Dr. Oddswell’s house for safety from the nightmares outside. She wouldn’t do anything but stare and twitch and stammer and blush while those like Red or Bendy or Alice were around. But Boris had spotted her once, when it was just her and the injured. She was talking to them in a soft voice, chatting and smiling kindly. She even helped them out with bandages that itched, or getting medicine to help fevers and headaches. A few toons were skittish of her dark nature, the fact that she was a vampire, but they had warmed up to her, brightening up whenever she walked into the room.

 

Boris had thought she would want to stay behind. She seemed happy when she watched over the wounded, but she seemed almost eager to leave the house, jumping at the opportunity. She explained that she remembered the way back to the castle nearly perfectly, so if they got seperated from Alice, who had the map, she could guide them back. And that she could persuade any of her friends to refrain from attempting to scare the group.

 

So, they all organized a quick plan. They'd get to the castle as swiftly as possible, avoiding any routes that they knew had monsters. The chaos made it impossible to know any area well enough, but they at least knew there were some unicorns around that they'd have to avoid for Bendy and Valentine's sake. And Charming, who rotated between helping out around the house or being outside saving innocent toons, reported seeing beasts such as kitsunes, large bears and shadowy panthers lurking around. The area around Baker Street attracted the animal side of the variety of monsters, it seemed.

 

Once at the castle, they'd most likely have to fight off an onslaught of monsters that Holly would summon. Maybe even that giant eagle. Once  _ in  _ the castle, they'd have to be wary of traps and runes Holly might have set up. Then, and here's hoping, if they found Holly, Bendy, Boris, Alice and Mugs- who all still had their darts from last time- would have to attempt to dart her asleep. If they all failed, then Mugs would have to use brute force to knock her unconscious. Assuming everything went according to plan, that is.

 

After all, their plan had a lot of  _ maybes  _ and _ ifs _ . But they didn't have anything better. None of them would be content to sit at the house and just wait, especially not Bendy and Finley, who were particularly restless.

 

Wounds checked and rebandaged, plan rethought and reaccepted, and anxious worrying from Sammy and Wiston over, the group set off, Alice leading the way. They all stuck particularly close to each other, practically touching one another, afraid of getting separated.

 

Boris heard a loud, wailing scream in the distance and flattened his ears against his skull. Some innocent toon out there- what was happening to them? Merely scared by some harmless kitten, or running from a giant, bloodthirsty spider? Being tortured by masked figures without mercy? Maimed, murdered, drowned, burned, poisoned? Who out there was okay, and who was harmed, or worse?

 

Bendy pressed his hand against Boris's arm as the pup shivered. The demon smiled warmly up at his brother.

 

"Don't worry, bro, we've got this," he reassured Boris. "We'll end this."

 

Boris grinned back at his brother. "We have to," Boris added determinedly, tail wagging lightly. They had evaded the Cup-brothers how many times, fended off a giant snake, fought an evil voodoo lady, and defeated Cala Maria when the cog had made her enormous. They were hitting a few bumps, but they'd save Holly eventually.

 

Moral boosted, Boris focused on keeping pace with the group. They had been startled by the scream as well, sending uneasy glances in its direction. The only one unaffected seemed to be Valentine, who just glanced with vague interest in the scream's direction.

 

The cat, who had tagged along with them persistently, pressed up against Boris's leg, fur rising, casting what appeared to be an uneasy glance in the opposite direction of the scream, ears flat against his head. Boris followed its gaze but found nothing but crumpled, dead vines, broken buildings and a void of shadows.

 

Just then, the ground shook, rumbling loudly. Boris yelped and stumbled into Bendy, throwing out a hand to Mugs who caught him. Bendy latched onto Boris's arm and steadied himself. Mr. Mickey leaned against a dead vine while Finley and Alice helped each other stand. Valentine caught herself from falling face first with her hand, kneeling and waiting for the tremors to pass. The cat flailed, legs sprawled out as it slipped. It dug its claws into the ground best it could.

 

In front of them, the road cracked and earth was pushed out of the way as a long serpentine jutted out of the ground, hissing and slithering, scales shimmering and shining. Two more of it's friends appeared beside it, digging their own holes. They weren't as big as Juju the snake had been, but that didn't make them any less threatening. 

 

Immediately, the largest of the bunch lunged towards the group, lightning fast. Mugs yanked Bendy and Boris out of the way while Alice and Finley dived in opposite directions. Its nose was sharp, flat and pointed and left an indent in the ground. It hissed, rising again, thin tongue flicking in and out.

 

Mugs swiftly reacted, firing blue bullets at the serpent. It recoiled backwards, hissing, hateful narrow black eyes glaring at them. Its brethren slithered up beside it. One snapped out at Alice and Finley, pushing them away, towards Mickey, while the other two sized up Mugs, Bendy and Boris. Valentine looked ready to bolt, glancing between the serpents and the buildings, her body tense. The cat puffed up and stayed closely beside Boris and Bendy, staring fearfully at the snakes.

 

“No!” Boris yelled out. “Don’t get separated!” They couldn’t let the snakes divide them! What was that saying? Divide and conquer? He didn’t want that to happen,  _ at all! _

 

Alice fended off the snake as it unhinged its jaw, snapping at them, her angelic magic bright. Mugs caught the attention of the lead snake, and the two fought one another, finger bullets flying and fangs gnashing. The last snake, the smallest, slithered swiftly towards Bendy and Boris, cutting them off from Mugs and the others. It lunged at them.

 

Bendy dipped out of the way, pulling Boris down with him. He threw a punch at the serpent’s face, hitting it in the eye. The serpent cried out, tongue flicking and fangs glistening. It hissed, rising up menacingly at the demon and wolf pup, pushing them backwards.

 

Bendy stood in front of Boris protectively while the wolf clutched his pipe tightly. The snake kept approaching, tongue flickering, in, out, in, out. They backed up further and further until they couldn’t anymore. They bumped into something scaly. They glanced behind- the rest of the snake’s long body. It had encased them in a circle, trapping them in.

 

The snake hissed, tail tip twitching. It lunged forward, and Bendy quickly pushed Boris out of the way. He jumped on top of its head, face contorted in panic.

 

"What are you doing?!" Boris yelled.

 

"I don't know!" Bendy responded, slipping down the serpent's back as it rose. He managed to grab onto a scale, clutching onto it.

 

The snake twisted its head around, glaring at the demon. It's tongue flicked in and out, a hiss rising in its throat.

 

"Uh… hi?" Bendy grinned sheepishly, tail spike twitching.

 

The snake lunged for Bendy, fangs shining. Bendy ducked out of the way, rolling down the side of the serpent and landing inelegantly on the ground with an 'umph!' The snake was already in motion and ending up sinking it's fangs into its own flesh. It's eyes widened comically as it jerked its head back, hissing in pain, watching blood drip from it's wound.

 

Angrily, it rounded back on Bendy as the demon caught his breath, struggling against his wounds from previous dangerous encounters. Bendy jerked backwards as the snake started its descent towards him, fangs flashing. Bendy stared up into the narrowed eyes of the serpent, his body stiffening. He had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.

 

"Hey!" Boris yelled, cranking his arm back behind him and above his head. The snake glanced at him, tongue flicking boredly, as if he wasn't worth the time. "Fangs off my brother!"

 

Boris tossed the pipe held in his hand with all his might, his arm muscles pulling from the power of it. The pipe hit the serpent square in the eye, the same one Bendy had punched earlier. The snake roared with fury, rising up higher, its long coiled body following it, leaving a gap in its circle.

 

Bendy ducked under the body of the serpent, snatching Boris's pipe as he went. He ran over to Boris, grabbing the wolf's gloved hand. The two madly dashed for their only chance of escape. The snake, realizing what was happening, let out a frustrated hiss, charging after it's prey. It was too late- they had already made it to safety.

 

Bendy turned around, tossing the pipe back to Boris, and faced the snake head on, firing curses its way.

 

Boris's immediate thought was too check for the others, praying they hadn't been separated. And they hadn't. Alice was pushing one serpent back as it cowered from her angelic magic, Finley and Mickey with her, while Mugs shot down the other serpent, leaving blackened scars along it's tough scaly body. That stray cat hissed at the serpents, puffed up threatening, although it seemed frozen with terror.

 

Boris returned his attention back to his brother, watching the small demon kick the overgrown snake in the face as it attempted to circle them again but utterly failed. It was actually pretty amusing, and Boris would have laughed if he had the energy.

 

Mugs defeated his snake at roughly the same time as Alice, and both of them turned to help Bendy. One look at a stern cupman with a glowing finger of death and an upset, scowling angel, and the serpent seemed to decide it was better off retreating after it's brethren. It flicked its tongue one more time, then tunnelled back into the earth, ground shaking as it departed.

 

Or so Boris thought.

 

It seemed to have other ideas, as it turned out. It tunnelled up on the opposite side, behind Boris. The wolf yelped, tripping as the ground rumbled beneath him.

 

"Boris!" Bendy called out as the snake lunged forward.

 

Boris reacted quickly, shoving his hand into his pocket and pulling out the blowgun holding the sedative dart. He took a deep breath and blew, as hard as he could. The dart hit the serpent right as it nearly ate Boris in one fell swoop. It curled up a bit, hovering above the pup, nose scrunching. Then, it crumbled and fell to the side, tongue lolling out.

 

Boris sucked in a deep breath, standing up as his brother rushed towards him.

 

"Are you okay?"

 

"Yeah," Boris murmured weakly in response. The others crowded around him and the serpent's unconscious form.

 

They were all out of breath, wincing from wounds they didn't give enough time to heal, aching muscles and sore bruises. None of them spoke to each other. Valentine slipped away from her cover in the buildings, hesitantly approaching them, not saying anything. Her eyes travelled towards the direction they were supposed to be heading.

 

Her eyes widened for a moment, a softness in them, but not without apprehension. "Oh no," she said softly.

 

They all bristled at that, turning to look at what she had commented on. Of course they couldn't get a moment of peace.

 

Unicorns. Glowing, glittering, white horned horses, trotting along the broken road, neighing and snorting at the destruction, scanning the area for signs of trouble.

 

Bendy tensed besides Boris, paling noticeably.

 

"We'll-" Boris took a moment to breath. "We'll have to… take a longer way… around… to the.. ca-...castle…" He was panting at this point, rolling his arm with a wince.

 

"No," Alice murmured softly, looking at the approaching unicorns, then at Bendy, then at Valentine, and then at all of them, her eyes examining their injuries critically.

 

None of them argued. A familiar enormous eagle flew threw the skies at that moment, wings flapping, feathers blowing in the stormy wind. It soared through the skies, going where it pleased.

 

Holly.

 

For a moment, Boris had a genuine thought of,  _ 'Maybe she isn't worth all the trouble of saving her.' _ But he squashed it down. No. He refused to think like that. She was his friend. He would save her. How would he feel if all his friends abandoned him?

 

But, still… Holly was making it clear she didn't want them anywhere near her. Boris was sure that she was the one to summon the ground snakes, and that she most likely also summoned the unicorns too, nearby somewhere. And the sunblazing eagle was a sure sign too. It was everywhere they went.

 

Boris glanced around, scanning for an easy route away from the unicorns.

 

"We need to continue onward, surely…" Finley tried to protest, tail drooping.

 

Valentine was the one to respond, surprisingly. The vampire girl wasn't as exhausted nor injured as them. "You really shouldn't… I don't like the way the blood of your wounds smell." She glanced uneasily around her. "And… n-none of my friends are around… I don't feel safe…"

 

They all agreed, too  _ tired  _ to put up much of a fight. They moved towards the shadows of the wrecked buildings, hiding from the unicorns as they scouted the area, sniffing the unconscious serpent. Boris glimpsed a wolf, smirking in the shadows, a paw over another and it's head laid down on them. As it caught him gazing at it, it raised its tail proudly. When Boris blinked, it was gone, and the stray cat was bristling at his side.

 

Wounded, defeated, and completely exhausted, they retreated back home, back to Dr. Oddswell's house, failure crawling through their skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, I had some more stuff planned for the end of this chapter, a segment that would leave you dreading what might happen next. But I felt like leaving off on a grim note was better than cutting to another's PoV. This chapter's title is, after all, Hopelessness. What's more hopeless than failure and giving up?
> 
> Thank you for reading this chapter, stay tuned for Chapter 14: Just Wanted to Say Halo, good luck, and good writing!


	14. Just Wanted to Say Halo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eeek! I'm excited for this chapter ^^ It's one of my favorites, alongside chapter 16 and Being Fine. It was delightful to write!
> 
> This chapter, Felix has to make some more tough decisions, and he consults his wolfie friend, who persuades him to do what's right... Well, wrong, I suppose. Or perhaps it is right... I'll let you be the judge of that! I hope you enjoy!

**Chapter Fourteen: Just Wanted to Say Halo**

 

Felix padded lightly in front of the door of Dr. Oddswell’s house, tail tip flicking agitatedly, ears flat against his head. His thoughts were all over the place. He was as anxious as Sammy Scare D. Cat. Holly had immediately stopped any attempts of them finding her. That smug dire wolf had alerted Felix that danger was coming, but it wasn’t like Felix could inform the others. They didn’t understand him.

 

They had retreated back to the house, tending to their wounds and resting more than they were replanning, their hopes deflated. The air in the house was dampened with their low spirits, but Felix was sure they would bounce back. After all, none of them were the type to abandon their friends. They needed to save Holly, and find Cuphead and Felix (although, little did they know he was right there with them). That would be motivation enough for them.

 

At least they had already sent scouts out. Unfortunately, though, Ferdinand Charming, Mickey- who had insisted on going via furious pencil and paper scribblings, Tiny Fangs and a toon that had taken refuge in Dr. Oddswell’s house had come back and reported any direction leading to the castle was guarded by creatures of varying levels of lethality. Charming nearly got impaled on some spikes too, along a treacherous path that lacked any terrifying monsters. Their only options were to fight their way to the castle.

 

_ You should take a rest,  _ Snowball squeaked, watching him walk in circles from atop an overturned coffee table that had somehow ended up near the entrance of the house.

 

Felix shook his head, frowning, whiskers twitching. “I- I can’t. I just…” He growled lightly, pawing at his face. “I feel like… I feel like something’s pulling me.”

 

_ Pulling you?  _ Snowball repeated, tilting her head cutely.  _ Like, you’re tied to a string? _

 

“No… Well, I guess maybe it  _ feels  _ like that…” Felix murmured, tail curling and uncurling. “I feel like I’m being called somewhere.” There was a tugging inside him, trying to lure him outside. “Do you… Do you know anyway out?” He glanced at the door, now so big and unopenable to him and his tiny cat body. Frustrating. He never thought of the fact that he wouldn’t be able to open closed doors as a cat. He was so far away from even reaching the knob.

 

Snowball pondered for a moment. Then, she meeped,  _ Yes! When I fetched Alpha and Beta’s soul trees, I could go through some touchable air I couldn’t before. It keeps changing on me, but maybe now the air there is untouchable again and you can leave the den. _

 

“Wha?” Felix stared at her blankly. ….Soul trees? Touchable and… untouchable air? The den was clearly the house, but what in the name of Yen Sid did those other ‘little creature’ words mean?

 

He didn’t have time to ask the dandehog either, as she was already floating away, heading for the stairs. He scrambled after her, keeping to the walls to avoid the ‘big people’ as they walked about, murmuring to each other. He leaped up the steps, feeling envious of both Snowball, who could just fly up them, and of the toons who could merely walk up them.

 

He followed Snowball as she lead him to one of the further rooms. Cuphead and Mugman’s, if he remembered correctly. She shimmied under the door, and for a moment, Felix dreaded that he’d have no way into the room, but then he realized it wasn’t fully closed. Using his paw, he nudged the door open, with some effort. He slipped into the room.

 

The beds had been thrown to one side, due to the tilted hill the house now resided on. Objects that had previously rested on a bed stand were now littering the ground.

 

_ You opened the moving tree,  _ Snowball meeped, ears pricked.  _ Only the big people can do that! It never moves for me. _

 

“The moving tree?” Felix mouthed slowly, glancing behind him. Then it clicked. “Oh! You mean the door. Yeah, uh, if it’s not closed all the way you can, erm, stick your paw in the cracks, and pull it open.” He paused. “Although, I guess it might be more difficult for you. You’re too light. It’s hard enough for me.”

 

Snowball’s nose twitched as she absorbed the information, glancing at the door. Then, she fluffed out her bristles and rose, floating over to the window. She moved forward, bumping into it with a frustrated meep.  _ The air is touchable again!  _ She chittered angrily, chastising the window for being so disrespectful, and never making up its mind on whether it was touchable or not. It was… quite interesting to watch, Felix would say.

 

He jumped up beside her, wobbling as he balanced on the sliver of room the window sill left. A tiny crack was open at the bottom. Angling his tail to balance himself, he stuck a paw under the crack, heaving upwards. It didn’t budge. He growled. Snowball tilted her head, watching him curiously.

 

Putting more effort into it, it creaked a little, but he leaned too far back and ended up tumbling to the ground, mrrowing in surprise. He rolled onto his paws, shaking his fur. Glancing around, he searched for something to help budge the window open, like a crowbar. Of course, there wasn’t a crowbar in the room, but he found a chunk of wood that had broken off of the bed stand. He grabbed it with his teeth and jumped back up to the window seal, shoving it underneath the window. He pushed down on it, and the window slowly creaked open.

 

Eventually, the piece of wood slipped out of his paws, falling to the floor with a thump. But the window was open enough. He squeezed under it, pulling himself out onto the other side. He meowed as he nearly fell, but he dug his claws into the side of the house.

 

Snowball meeped, a mix of asking if he was okay and wondering how he had gotten the touchable air to budge.

 

Felix didn’t have time to explain or answer. He just breathed out a, “Thank you” and dropped as his grip slipped. He tumbled to the ground, cutting his ear on something as he rolled. He groaned as he came to a stop, slamming against another building’s wall. He shook his fur as he stood up, wobbling and wincing.

 

A growl made him alert. He turned around, sitting down, tail curled around his paws, ignoring the bruises and his stinging ear. The dire wolf jumped down from a dumpster that had been pushed against the side of the building.

 

_ Did you do as my Alpha asked?  _ The dire wolf growled, tail raised as he stood stoically in front of Felix.

 

“Ye- yes…” Felix ducked his head, whiskers trembling as the canine stared him down. The wolf narrowed his dark eyes at the feline, lips twitching. But, to Felix’s relief, he put up no argument.

 

_ Good. The Alpha will be pleased.  _ He licked his chops, and Felix could smell the fresh, tangy scent of blood and meat. He could even see some chunks of fur stuck in his teeth. Felix trembled, both delighted that he wasn’t on the mutt’s menu, and terrified for what poor creature had been hunted down by the canine and his sharp fangs.

 

The dire wolf leaned forward, sniffing Felix’s nicked ear as hot blood flowed from the scratch. Felix flinched, but held his ground. The wolf opened his jaws and Felix shut his eyes, expecting the canine to nip at him for getting hurt, or something. But, he felt a warm, wet tongue lick his wound. He blinked and opened his eyes, watching the dire wolf gently lick his nicked ear a few times before pulling back, the dripping blood gone, leaving only a tiny bit leaking from his cut. Felix twitched his whiskers in confusion, staring at the dog.

 

_ My tongue cannot Heal the same way she does.  _ The dire wolf lamented.  _ Get on my Alpha’s good side, and she will Heal you of any injuries, cat. Do you understand?  _ He bared his fangs at Felix, like he was threatening the cat to agree.

 

“Erm- yes?” Felix blinked, shrinking into himself. The wolf huffed, taking that as the best answer he was going to get. He lashed his gray, furry tail.

 

_ My Alpha has another mission for you, cat. I expect another success, got it? Any less and I will rip you to shreds,  _ the canine snarled, stepping forward, malicious intent glittering in his dark eyes. Felix nodded quickly as the wolf placed a paw down right in front of Felix, his fuzzy-furred chest touching Felix’s nose. Slobber dripped from his fangs onto Felix’s face. He flinched, squirming as the gross slobber hit his fur.

 

_ Steal the halo of the angel,  _ the dire wolf barked. Felix doubted he knew what that meant- he must just be repeating what Holly told him to say.

 

Horror rippled throughout Felix, and he stared open-mouthed at the wolf. “Steal Alice’s hal- No! No. We already went through so much trouble to get that back from Black Hat- we don’t need to go through that again. I-”

 

_ Silence!  _ The wolf barrelled into him, knocking him down. His fangs snapped around his neck, lightly puncturing his skin. The wolf narrowed his eyes at the cat as Felix went numb from shock for a moment, then regained his- terrified- senses back. The dire wolf glared at him, demanding he change his answer.

 

His heart beat rapidly, enough that Felix swore he could feel his whole body tremor in tune with his heartbeats. The canine had the power to end him right now- one swift turn of his head, and Felix’s fragile tiny cat neck would snap.

 

Still, he swallowed, staring back at the wolf, forcing his whiskers to stop trembling. “N-no, I-I won’t. I can’t! It’s not right! Th-this isn’t like with Finley- I’ll only hurt Alice by stealing her halo!”

 

The canine snarled, increasing pressure on his neck.  _ I don’t want excuses, cat! Do you know what my Alpha will do if she finds out you denied her command?!  _ The dire wolf shook him lightly, enough to send jolts of panic through Felix’s body.  _ She will sick the lessers under her command! Those you are not as high in her Grand Pack as you and I! They will maul each and every one of your former packmates to  _ death _ , and eat their rotting corpses if I do not find them first! My Alpha will kill all who oppose her! Do you want to be the one who opposes her, and gets not only themselves, but their entire pack killed? You would be a dishonorable packmate, both for disobeying your Alpha, and for leading an entire pack to doom. _

 

Felix froze up. He remembered facing those overgrown serpents, watching as they attacked his friends mercilessly. He had felt his usual courage- he wanted to defend his friends, wanted to fight beside them, protect them. But then… facing one of the serpents, he realized he wasn't  _ Felix the Cat _ , he was just  _ some cat _ . He didn't have his magic bag, or his experience in fighting. All he had was claws and fangs and the ability to hiss. He couldn’t do anything to protect his ‘pack’. The only thing he could do was hope that following Holly’s commands would keep them out of trouble that lead to certain death…

 

So…. He was going to have to steal Alice’s halo if he wanted his friends to have a chance to live… to stop Holly. To end this all…

 

His body went slack, and the wolf took that as an answer. He let go of his painful hold on Felix, licking his fangs. He backed up, raising his head high, dark eyes narrowed at the cat who stayed still on the ground. He gestured with his tail to the shadows under the dumpster behind them. Felix could barely make out a softly dented bottle of pills. He knew what they were for. The dire wolf didn’t have to tell him.

 

_ Stop being a coward, cat,  _ the wolf snarled lightly.  _ So your Alpha and your pack allegiance has changed- it happens to the best of us. That is the way of a wolf.  _ He scoffed, turning around disdainfully.  _ When you had your silver-claw, you attacked me to defend your packmate. Now, you must do the same for your new pack. Steal the angel’s halo, or I will show no mercy. Alpha’s commands. _

 

Felix squeezed his eyes shut, listening to the wolf pad away, claws clicking on the rough surface. His heart beat, pumping blood that roared in his ears. He had never felt so afraid and uncertain in his life. He wanted to protect his friends, not… not steal what was important to them. How had none of his adventures prepared him for this?

 

_ ‘None of my adventures involved me getting turned into a cat and being used by an evil witch possessed by a cog that was supposed to help innocent toons with a mysterious, deadly illness but turned out to be the bane of my existence,’  _ he thought bitterly, claws curling.

 

_ Oh,  _ the quiet woof brought him back to attention. He opened one eye and glanced back to the wolf as it now stood upon the dumpster.  _ And one more thing.  _ The canine tossed down a syringe. Felix knew immediately what it was for, recognizing the liquid that was inside. Although, it looked one or two shades more darker in this dim lighting.

 

The wolf turned around and left, leaving Felix to wallow in his thoughts on the dirty, cold, hard ground and blood slowly dripping from where the wolf’s sharp fangs had sunk in.

 

\-------

 

Felix watched from under the table as the toons mumbled tiredly to each other, most letting hollow goodnights leave their lips before they retired to their bedrooms for restless sleep. A few would stay awake awhile to watch over the injured in the infirmary.

 

His ears pricked as Bendy and Boris retreated to their room, quietly dismissing themselves, leaving only Alice and Granny behind at the table. They talked for what seemed like an eternity for Felix, talking about the wounded and lack of supplies, and about their deflated spirits, and for a few sentences they reminisced about Holly and the good girl she once was.

 

Felix shifted on his paws, waiting until Granny Gopher finally decided to go to sleep. When she did, Alice accompanied her up the stairs, chatting softly with her. Felix slipped out from under the table, his mouth holding onto three small, white pills. He leaped onto a chair and then onto the table, quickly locating Alice’s glass of water. He dropped the pills into the water, hating the very action he was committing. Then, he jumped off the table, heading for the stairs, passing the angel right as she walked down the stairs.

 

She smiled at him, leaning down and scratching behind his ear. He let out a soft meow, trying to apologize but knowing the words would be lost on her. She stood up and entered the dining room. Felix swiftly hopped up the stairs, stopping at a turned over plant and grabbing the syringe he had hid behind it. Then, he headed to Finley’s room, searching for his familiar scent. When the fox had retreated to his room for the night, accompanied by a jumpy Sammy, Felix had slyly lodged a bit of broken wood under the door, forcing it to stay open.

 

Locating Finley and Sammy’s room, Felix dug his claws into that chunk of wood, wiggling it out from under the door. When it popped out, he nudged the door open, flinching as it creaked slightly, one of the door hinges somewhat broken. He hoped Sammy wasn’t a light sleeper.

 

Felix barely thought about his actions- he didn’t want too- as he stabbed Finley’s ear gingerly with the needle, pressing down with his paw. Unlike last time, Finley fidgeted. Either because of a bad dream or because Felix hadn’t been as gentle injecting the needle into his ear this time around, Felix didn’t know. Or perhaps it was the third option that Felix had shut out from his mind.

 

Felix discarded the syringe lazily to the side, having used all the liquid inside this time. He didn’t really find anything wrong with leaving it there- if they found it, they wouldn’t assume anything of it, he just wanted it out of his hands- paws? Mouth, technically. He had held it in his mouth.

 

The black cat crept out of the room with light paws, watching Sammy and Finley both for any signs of disturbance. Then, he poked his head around a hallway, watching Alice retreat into her temporary room after a refreshing drink of cold water. He cursed under his breath as, unlike Finley and Sammy, she realized her door had not closed all the way. She kicked the wooden piece he had left there away, shutting the door.

 

He trotted up to the door, gently scratching at it with a whisper of a mew. Maybe she would open the door for him? At the same time, he was afraid he might wake the others. A few more barely audible scratches at the door, and Felix realized she wasn’t going to open the door. He stared at it, wondering how he could get inside. Perhaps he should try again tomorrow.

 

A curious meep made him turn. Snowball drifted over to him, her droopy ears and bleary eyes suggesting she was tired. But, still, she looked at the cat with bright eyes that held a child-like innocence. She wanted to know what he was doing.

 

He frowned, lightly shifting the weight on his paws, unsure of how to answer her question. “I’m… I’m simply… I want into Alice- the Light Lady’s room. I- uh- her light aura- it, uh, makes me feel calmer?” He fumbled over his lie. Snowball tilted her head at him.

 

_ Light Lady seemed very tired. Maybe we shouldn’t disturb her. She already closed the moving tree anyway, so you can’t get in…  _ Suddenly her ears perked, and she squeaked joyously.  _ You can sleep with me in Alpha and Beta’s room! I’m sure Beta wouldn’t mind- he’s quite lonely without Alpha. I miss Alpha too. _

 

“Yeah… I… I do too.” That was right. He had to locate Cuphead too, wherever he was. He cleared his throat, glancing at the door and then back at the dandehog. An idea started forming in his mind. “Say…  _ I  _ might not be able to get in, but you can, right?”

 

Snowball blinked, glancing briefly at the crack under the door.  _ Yes,  _ she answered.

 

“Do you think… Do you think you could open the d- the… the moving tree for me?” Felix asked.

 

Her bristles puffed out.  _ But I can’t. The moving tree never listens to me! And you said before that I wasn’t big enough to open it. _

 

"Yes, but you could unlock it," Felix mewed. "See," he pointed at the door handle with a claw, "on the other side there's another one of these 'door knobs', and on it, there might be a… a little nub. If you can twist it, you'll unlock the door- moving tree. These door knobs are how they- the big people- control the moving trees."

 

Snowball absorbed the information, her cute tiny nose twitching. Her ears folded backwards, uncertain as she glanced at the door.

 

“Please,” Felix begged her, bowing his head slightly, letting his ears and tail droop helplessly. “I- I need to get into the Light Lady’s room..... It will help your mother.”

 

At that, the puffball perked up.  _ My mother? How will it help her? _

 

“It will… Well, the Light Lady has this certain item that will… Help cure the darkness in Holly.” It was a lie. A dirty lie as he said it. But it was out before he could stop it.

 

Snowball accepted the lie with as little as a nod. She squirmed under the door and popped out on the other side. Felix let out a sigh of… relief, he supposed.

 

Felix glanced around for something to push towards the door. There was a broken chair that had made its way into the hallway. It was turned upside down, splinters littered on the ground. He padded over to it, testing it with a paw. It swayed lightly, but he was sure it would hold his weight, and it was pushable. Taking a deep breath, he pressed his shoulder into one of the crooked legs of the chair, shoving it forward. It rubbed against the wooden floor, screeching like fingernails on a chalkboard. He winced, freezing, hoping the noise didn’t wake anyone. Hesitantly, he continued to push against the chair, minimizing the sound as best he could. Eventually, he pushed the chair up against the door. He hopped onto it, wobbling briefly.

 

His ears flicked upwards as he listened to Snowball’s tiny paws scratch against the door knob, attempting to unlock the door. After a few moment, he heard the quiet click of the door unlocking.

 

Felix reached upwards, balancing haphazardly on the chair. He placed his paws on the door handle, grateful that it was a long one rather than a round one. He pulled downwards with effort, throwing his body forward at the same time. The door swung open and he smacked into the ground.

 

Snowball squeaked, asking if he was okay. Felix fluffed out his fur, standing up.

 

“I’m okay,” he murmured. He glanced at Alice who slept soundly- too soundly- in her bed. “Hey, why don’t you go to Mugm- Beta? You need to sleep. I can handle things from here.”

 

_ Okay!  _ Snowball meeped brightly. She chattered a goodbye as she drifted out of the room.

 

Felix flicked his ear, watching the dandehog go with slight sadness. Then, he turned his attention to the angel.

 

She hadn’t even changed into pajamas, or more comfortable sleeping clothes. She had just fallen onto the bed, as if she couldn’t stand any longer. She hadn’t even gotten under the sheets and blanket. The sleeping pills had worked.

 

Felix curled his claws in discomfort at the thought. Taking another deep breath, he jumped onto the bed. Her halo shown gently in front of him as he crept silently across the bed. For a moment, he couldn’t bring himself to take it.

 

Alice didn’t deserve this. She was a young angel without her wings, who had only just gotten her halo back. She was kind-hearted and sweet, wanting to help even a demon. Did he really have any right to take her halo from her? To become as bad, to stoop as low as that business demon Black Hat? To follow Holly’s orders?

 

Hesitantly, he reached out a timid paw, shaking from indecision.

 

_ ‘Back out,’  _ his mind whispered.  _ ‘Back out. You don’t want to do this.’  _

 

_ ‘But,’  _ his treacherous thoughts responded.  _ ‘Holly will do so much worse to you and the others if you don’t. Why disobey?’ _

 

He touched the halo with his paw, and then immediately recoiled. It didn’t feel right. It was liked it sensed his impure attentions, warning him off. He shouldn’t take her halo. It wasn’t  _ right. _

 

Alice twitched in her sleep, making Felix freeze. Would she awaken, despite the pills effects, when she felt her halo leave her?

 

Felix definitely couldn’t do this anymore. The very idea of stealing her halo was poison to him, and getting caught was even worse.

 

He started to back away, tail flicking, when a golden rune appeared above Alice. All her little twitches and movements ceased immediately as she fell into a deeper sleep, her breathing light and wispy.

 

“Holly?” He whispered, confused. He glanced around, like she might be in the room with him. But she wasn’t. So where had the rune come from? She could do them from far distances, but how would she know to rune Alice….?

 

He shook his head, choosing not to question it. Maybe the sleeping pills were rigged to activate the rune after awhile, if that was even possible.

 

Felix reached his head forward, slowly putting his fangs around the halo. It seemed to spark in his mouth, commanding him to let go. But he didn’t, he tightened his grip on the halo. Breathing heavily, fear taking over him, he yanked backwards as hard as he could.

 

Alice spasmed briefly, as if she could still sense her halo being stolen. Felix could see her face contort in displeasure. But she didn’t wake up.

 

There was a bright flash from the halo as he was tossed backwards. He hit the wall with a slam. Dazed and disoriented, Felix remained there for a second. His fuzzy mind thought that he had lost the halo for a moment, until he realized it laid at his paws. Blinking, he grabbed the halo between his teeth. He glanced at Alice, still asleep, but Felix could sense some sort of agitated energy rising from her. Fur fluffing with panic, he glanced around wildly, halo between his fangs.

 

And then he  _ bolted. _

 

\--------

 

Bendy rubbed his eyes, sluggishly waking up as he heard a loud slam from down the hallway. Boris lazily lifted his head too. Bendy wanted to go back to sleep- stars knows he needed it even if most of his dreams were nightmares, but knowing the mayhem that was going on outside, he guessed it was probably better to investigate. Hopefully, it was just some toon who had stupidly fallen down the stairs or something.

 

He groaned as he swung out of bed. Boris glanced at him, eyes bleary. He flicked his ears. Bendy was tempted to tell him to go back to sleep, but the pup was already out of bed and beside him. Boris yawned as he waited for Bendy to walk over to him.

 

“Whaddya think that was?” Bendy murmured hoarsely, throat dry.

 

Boris shrugged. “No idea.”

 

The brothers walked out the door, finding Mugman heading over to them, looking as confused as they were. He glanced around, searching for something. Snowball was on the rim of his head, meeping quietly.

 

“Do you know what that sound was?” Mugs asked.

 

Both the wolf and demon shook their heads.

 

Footsteps alerted them to Sammy and Finley approaching around the corner. Finley rubbed his eyes tiredly, ears drooping, posture slouched while Sammy was positively puffed up, a ball of anxiety as his gaze darted around quicker than Bendy could follow.

 

"Wh-what was that?" Sammy stuttered out worriedly, paws going to his fluffed out tail, wringing it anxiously.

 

Bendy shrugged. "Probably nothing." He yawned. "Let's just go back to bed."

 

"Agreed," Finley murmured, leaning against the wall, his eyes closed. His scarred ear flicked irritatedly.

 

Sammy whined, shaking. "What if it wasn't! What if a m-m-monster got in and is gonna eat us!"

 

"A monster couldn't get in. Alice's barrier prevents them from entering," Boris reminded him softly.

 

Bendy glanced at the room that Alice had taken residence in. Due to the destruction outside, Alice, Xedo and Wiston were forced to stay in Dr. Oddswell's house rather than return to their own homes.

 

He was surprised to see the door left open, and a turned over, broken chair in front of it. He blinked- the chair might have slid there since the house itself was sort of crooked, but she wouldn't have left the door wide open, would she?

 

"Erm, guys?" Bendy gestured to the open door.

 

Sammy immediately started panicking, jumping from paw to paw like he was on fire. Finley cracked open an eye, ripped ear twitching with curiosity. Mugs and Boris both tilted their heads questioningly, analyzing the door.

 

Snowball meeped from atop Mugs's head. She fluffed out her bristles and took flight, landing on the door handle. She sniffed it for a moment and then floated further into the room, meeping.

 

They all glanced awkwardly at each other- it would be rude to just barge into a lady’s room, but one of them had to check, right?

 

“I’ll go,” Boris murmured, slipping into the room with a light knock on the door frame. “Alice?” He paused for a moment when he entered the room, tilting his head. “...Alice?” He glanced back at them before heading further into the room. “Hey, Alice, wake up.” There was the sound of faint rustling, as if Boris was shaking her lightly. “Alice?” He raised his voice. “Hey, guys, how heavy of a sleeper is Alice?”

 

“Uh.” Bendy shared a glance with Mugs. “I’d imagine she’s a light sleeper, but I have no idea. Why?”

 

“Cause she’s not waking up… And it honestly looks like she just fell onto the bed rather than slept in it,” Boris answered. At that, the others warily slipped into the room.

 

And what Boris said was true. She was in her typical attire, her head not even on the pillow, and her feet hanging off the bed. She wasn’t under the covers, like she didn’t have the energy to pull them over herself. Her fingers twitched lightly, and there was both a frown and a grimace on her face.

 

Finley and Sammy glanced at each other, Sammy fluffing up even more.

 

“I-I-I-Is it- Is it- oh stars, w-was she c-cursed asleep?” Sammy stuttered, putting a hand to his pale forehead.

 

“Like last time? ...That’s my best guess.” Finley folded his arms, frowning.

 

“But why?” Mugs inquired, brows furrowing.

 

“Sooo,” Boris drew out. “How did you guys wake up last time?” He cocked his head. “I think you mentioned it, but I don’t really remember...”

 

Bendy’s face burned as the memory sizzled in his mind. Stars, oh no, if Finley got it in his head-

 

“True love’s kiss,” the fox swooned dramatically, smirking at Bendy. The demon scowled at him, clenching his fists. Oh, if he could find something like this against Finley, he would get his revenge.

 

Boris blinked. “That wouldn’t really work, would it?”

 

“Nah,” Finley chuckled, waving the pup off the thought. “I mean, yes. But Snow White and Charming just said a quick peck on the check or forehead would work between friends. I dunno why. Magic?”

 

“Oh,” Boris said. “Got it.”

 

“I’ll fill you in on the fun stuff later.” Finley grinned impishly.

 

“Shut it, fox face!” Bendy barked. The fox just stifled his chuckles. Mugs also cracked a smile. Boris just glanced between them, confused.

 

“Well, since you’re so eager to shut me up, why don’t you do the honors, Bendy?” Finley suggested. “Hopefully she isn’t dreaming of-”

 

“Don’t even finish that thought!” Bendy snapped, tail lashing. His face was ablaze. “And, no, I will  _ not  _ do the honors!”

 

Finley raised a hand to his muzzle, muffling his laughter. “Why not? It’s just a kiss between friends- not even on the lips. Well, unless, of course, their dreams say otherwise.”

 

“Finley! I will-”

 

“GUYS!” Boris yelled, startling both Finley and Bendy into silence. “This is serious! We don’t know why Alice is runed asleep! Something could be terribly wrong.”

 

The two bowed their heads guiltily as the wolf pup scolded them.

 

Boris gestured at the sleeping angel. “Bendy, can you just do the thing, really quickly, on the cheek, or something?”

 

Bendy wanted to argue, but the wolf frowned at him as he opened his mouth to do so. He closed his mouth, cheeks burning.

 

“Fine,” he grumbled. Reluctantly, the demon brushed Alice’s dark hair away from her cheek, cursing under his breath at Finley for even presenting the idea. He, with a pounding heart, gave the angel the quickest peck in the existence of ever on her cheek, drawing back like she was a snake about to snap at him.

 

“I dunno if it works if you do it so quickly-” Finley started to say.

 

Alice jerked suddenly, flying upwards, gasping. “My halo- It’s gone.”

 

For a moment, they stared at the angel uncomprehendingly.

 

“What?” Mugs said.

 

“My halo.” Alice turned to look at them, her eyes wide. “I-It’s gone. Someone stole it.”

 

“What?” Bendy’s tail shot up, embarrassment dissolving immediately. “How do you know?”

 

“I- I could feel it. My halo being ripped from me. But I couldn’t wake up. It was frustrating,” Alice hissed out the last line, brows furrowing as she frowned darkly.

 

“No,” Finley whispered as Sammy whimpered beside him. “That’s- ugh. That’s not good. Holly must’ve-”

 

“B-But how?! No one can get in A-Alice’s barrier w-without her kn-knowing, right?!?! H-Holly can’t get in!” Sammy cried frantically.

 

“No, no, she can’t,” Alice said softly. “But she  _ has  _ it. However she got it, she has it.”

 

“Wha’s going on? Something’s gone?” A voice murmured sleepily. It was Wiston, with Fireball loyally on his shoulder. The young fox rubbed his eyes tiredly. Xedo was at his side, examining the situation quietly. There was some more footsteps around the house as toons woke up from the commotion.

 

"Alice's halo," Bendy responded steely. "It's gone. Holly stole it."

 

His fists clenched harder, his tail lashing wrathfully. He practically steamed with anger. And, if he could have seen himself, he would have realized his eyes were glinting a pale red. "And we've gotta steal it right back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I struggled with writing that last scene a bit. I'm not too good with handling/writing embarrassment, but I forced myself to continue writing. I think it turned out good! I really like this chapter- writing Snowball and Felix's interactions are always such a joy, and I've had the idea of Felix stealing Alice's halo from when I first though of this Dark Holly AU idea.
> 
> Thank you for reading, stay tuned for next chapter: Storming the Castle, good luck, and good writing!


	15. Storming the Castle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are not looking so good for anyone this chapter. Let's hope everything turns out all-right for our gang! I hope you enjoy reading this chapter!

**Chapter Fifteen: Storming the Castle**

 

_ November 7, Monday _

 

_ There's always that spark of delight inside you when you get something accomplished. A feeling of pride, of glory, of joy. And, stars, am I feeling that spark now. _

 

_ Then again, perhaps it's just the glowing halo I'm holding. _

 

_ Oh, there's certainly a spark. So much power in this ring. So much potential, so much angelic magic. What could it do? What could I do with it? _

 

_ I briefly switched the hand I was holding it in, tossing it gently back and forth. There was a spark of power, of light, of magic from the halo, but there was also a sort of… Warning. Like it knew it wasn’t with its precious angel, that it was held in the hands of a witch instead. _

 

_ Witch. Hmm… I no longer feel bothered by that title. I believe I don’t qualify as a witch- witches and I are far different in terms of how we use our magic and go about our days but… It almost fits, doesn’t it? Tree witch- that’s what that cursed crack-head called me. That sounds far better than “tree princess”. More powerful, more threatening. _

 

_ I inhaled, twirling the halo around my fingers. A wrongness- that warning- came to me again. _

 

_ I exhaled breath out of my mouth, holding the halo steady, caressing it with my thumb. There was that power. I needed it. I  _ wanted  _ it. _

 

_ “Felix,” I spoke slowly, watching the cat startle from the corner of my vision. He had been sitting quietly next to the door, fidgeting lightly, trapped with his thoughts. Now, he was puffed up, ears flat against his head, eyes wide and wary. How adorable. _

 

_ “Do me a favor,” I said.  _ Commanded. _ “When those brain-dead idiots come running, keep them entertained.” _

 

_ For a moment, he looked like he might argue that same, useless argument, but then his gaze flickered to the griffin who sat nervously near him. “What do you mean?” Felix instead inquered. _

 

_ “Oh, you know.” I twirled the halo around my finger. “Let them roam around the castle a bit. Steer them away from danger, if you want. Just don’t let them near me, or the halo. In this case, you’ll have to prevent them from getting the halo. I’m going off on a little mission.” _

 

_ I saw the calculations in the cat’s gaze, the curiosity, the questions. Ha. Like I would answer any of them. _

 

_ He swallowed, thin whiskers twitching. “For what?” _

 

_ I turned around- I was seated upon my precious cog at the moment, so it was more like my cog moved, and I merely was along for the ride. “Something for my own amusement. I’ll get rid of some problems that our dear friends might encounter if you listen to my instructions, kitty. It really isn’t that hard.” _

 

_ The griffin chattered something to the cat, beak clicking. I couldn’t make out exactly what it was- translations runes were so hard to come by- but I sort of understood the dumb bird. Something about following my orders... I think my ability to understand the creatures under my control has something to do with my cog, although I’m not quite certain. Still, I mentally sent a thank you to my cog. It deserved the praise, and so much more. _

 

_ Felix responded with a flick of his ears, pondering for a moment. I was quite tempted to stab his other leg with a peryton antler.  _ That  _ was entertaining, far more so than this little game I was playing with the cat. _

 

_ “I… I suppose I can do that. So long as no one gets hurt.” Felix narrowed his eyes at me with a steely, cold gaze, like he thought he still had some authority over me. Poor, dumb kitty.  _

 

_ I smiled, or maybe smirked. I didn’t really care. “Oh, it’s up to you whether no one gets hurt or not. You make sure they don’t mess with me, and everyone goes home, safe and sound. You fail, and well….” I dragged a finger over my throat. _

 

_ Felix didn’t respond. He seemed to be internally arguing with himself. About what, I wonder? Was he debating my words? Struggling with whether or not he should follow my demands? To believe my threats? _

 

_ The griffin chirped something again, glancing at me and my cog, its beady eyes glazed with caution. It twitched his burned wing. Poor little chick… How could Cuphead do such a thing to an innocent griffin? _

 

_ I smiled at the memory of Cup’s surprise at the griffin betraying him. Mister “All Animals Love Me”. Damn crack-head deserved to be tortured for taking my dandehog from me- that traitorous rat. I was her creator! _

 

_ I allowed myself to silently fume for a few moments, before returning to the present, rubbing a hand against my cog, the other still holding the halo. _

 

_ “Well, Feely, you better get going. Corner on the right- that’ll take you to the house.” I had switch runes and transportation runes setup all over the place. Castle? Was that what one would call this rundown building? It was an odd amalgamation of buildings and structures, complete with a brick wall exterior that I had borrowed from some medieval castle from a ruin site. I suppose it was a castle, then.  _ My  _ castle. _

 

_ Felix hesitated before following my instructions, briskly walking out of the room. The griffin’s eyes followed the cat, talons twitching. _

 

_ “And you,” I addressed the griffin, who squawked. He flared out his wings briefly, before dipping his head submissively to me. “Go keep Crack-head company.” _

 

_ The griffin bowed, one wing sweeping outwards. He turned and headed for the exit, before squawking loudly-  _ annoyingly-  _ as an irritatingly familiar bag slammed in front of him, persistently attempting to follow after that stupid black cat. _

 

_ I heard a bark as the dire wolf appeared, darting after it. My puppy barked a command at the griffin, who obeyed, lurching forward and snagging the magic bag on his talons. He struggled with it as it tried to tug itself forward. _

 

_ I let out an exasperated sigh. “Again? How many starfallen barriers- physical or magical- do I have to put this sunblazing bag behind? For Yen Sid’s sake.” _

 

_ I waved a hand, forcing the magic bag to vanish back to the circle of barrier runes I had set up. I rubbed my forehead as I felt a headache forming. I thought that bag would be fun to discover the contents of, but it kept trying to make its way back to Felix! How irritating! Didn’t it know who I was?!?! What I could do? If I wasn’t so interested in it, I would burn it to ash! _

 

_ I let out a breath to steady myself, forcing myself to relax. I ran my hand over the curves of my cog, concentrating on its power and magic to distract myself. Whatever. The magic bag wasn’t even that big of a deal anyway. _

 

_ I dismissed the griffin again, watching the half-lion, half-eagle trot away. I motioned for my dire wolf to stand beside me. He did so eagerly and respectfully. _

 

_ I hummed as I looked down at the halo. Extracting and experimenting on its magic would be difficult without the right equipment. In fact, it was incredibly risky too. Who knew what dangers an angel’s halo held. Luckily, I knew exactly where I could get something that would cause no harm to me or to the halo. _

 

_ Time to pay a visit to Black Hat’s Casino. _

 

\--------

 

To say he was steaming with anger would be an understatement. Bendy lashed his tail vexedly, clenching and unclenching his fists.

 

Stars, he should have- he should have at least  _ thought  _ Holly would do something like this. On a normal, non-cog possessed day, she's smart, clever and resourceful. On a cog possessed day, she's downright conniving, manipulative and starving for power. An angel's halo-  _ Alice's  _ halo was an obvious item to steal.

 

For one, she could use it as a negotiating item to try and convince Alice to, say, drop the barrier keeping her in Toon Town. Or, she could use it to distract Alice if she needed her out of the equation for a moment. Maybe Holly would just be downright cruel and destroy the halo to shatter Alice's hope. Or she could-

 

Starfallen, sunblazing-  _ UGH. _ There were so many awful things she  _ could  _ do, and it stressed Bendy out thinking about it. And it didn't help that he could smell the fear scents of those around him. Sammy's was overpowering at this point while Alice's was more mellowed out, but persistently there under her faux calmness, never leaving, taunting him.

 

Bendy took in a deep, shaky breath, before exhaling, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment. He steadied his nerves best he could, pushing away the overwhelming fear scents. He was still… agitated, but he could remain… calm enough. He wanted to make sure his eyes didn't go red- he could tell when they did because Alice's fear would hitch up a bit.

 

He watched the angel fiddle with her hair beside him, twirling a strand around her pointer finger. She stared down at the ground, brows furrowed and bottom lip slightly jutted out. Bendy would have found it cute if not for their circumstances. He could see the frustration and conflict in her eyes and smell the fearful worry coming off her in rhythmic waves.

 

She had been frantic and on the verge of tears when she realized her halo was gone,  _ again _ , but she had calmed down, although most of it was faked. She had taken deep breaths in and out until she could logically think things out.

 

Bendy had been ready to tear down the walls of that damned castle, bursting with rage, but Alice and Boris had kept him from doing that, remaining at his side. Boris stood silently on his left, studying the others as they gathered supplies.

 

Mugs, Alice and Bendy all still had their darts securely in their pockets. They all had small bags slung on their shoulders, full of medicinal equipment and supplies in case anything happened. They were all wary of being separated again, so they agreed to use a buddy system. Bendy and Boris would keep an eye on each other, of course. Mickey and Mugs were another pair while Alice and Finley were to stick together as another. Valentine was going too, more as someone to guide them back to each other if they got separated. She said she'd asked her friends to keep on eye out for them. Other than that, she insisted she didn't go into the castle. Bendy was… well, concerned at her reason... She was scared of Holly.

 

Or, well, what Valentine knew of Holly. She knew Holly was a problem, the one at fault for this chaos and danger. It was understandable, honestly. They hadn't explained who Holly was to Valentine, only talked about "stopping her" and "saving her". Before she harmed anyone else.  _ Anyone else. _

 

Yeah, that definitely wasn't a reason to view Holly as a good person. Valentine's fears and hesitance were understandable, justifiable. But it made Bendy... upset that his friend could be viewed this way. It wasn't  _ her  _ fault- it was that damned cog.

 

He should have- He should have realized  _ something  _ was up. He should have prevented her from turning into this, this  _ monster _ . He should have-... And… And now she had stolen Alice’s halo.

 

Who did he blame? Himself? The cog? Holly?

 

_ ‘No, no… Not Holly. She’s innocent in all of this. The only thing that’s her is her methods and her knowledge- things that the cog is using for its twisted, corrupted schemes,’  _ he thought fiercely to himself. His fists balled tightly together at his sides, shaking slightly. He wanted to hit something. But what?

 

The cog. Holly.

 

He pushed the thought away again- he didn’t want to  _ hurt  _ Holly, not one bit. But it was hard not to feel anger towards her in this particular moment.

 

_ ‘She stole Alice’s halo.’ _

 

No. Not she. It. The cog stole Alice’s halo. The cog forced Holly to steal Alice’s halo. Holly would never, ever do something like that.

 

“Bendy,” his brother’s soft voice cut into his wild, jumpy thoughts, placing a hand on his shoulder. Bendy glanced at his brother, blinking as the wolf frowned at him. Had his eyes gone red again? Or was Boris just sensing his irritance?

 

The wolf pup didn’t say anything, just watched Bendy thoughtfully before twitching his ear and glancing towards the others as they finished putting the last of their supplies in their bags. Sammy fretted beside Finley, worrying over all their safety, the fox’s especially. Xedo and Wiston had helped Red as she tended to those going out’s wounds earlier. Now, they stood silently beside each other, Wiston’s eyes slightly wet as they always had been since Xedo had been burned. He pet Fireball’s feathers softly as the deerhawk cawed lightly at him. They all stayed close together, never straying far from each other’s sides.

 

“We better get going,” Mugs murmured, fidgeting with his scarf, eyes on the ground. Mickey stood beside him, the mute mouse’s tail waving slightly. He had a knife gifted to him by one of the injured toon’s taking refuge in the house. Finley had a knife now as well, from the same toon. The toon had offered one to Boris and Bendy too, and, while Bendy had taken the knife, Boris had shaken his head no, sticking to the pipe clutched tightly in his paws. Bendy was a little concerned as to why, and how, the toon had so many knives, but he didn’t question it too much. The guy had a sense of humor- he had greeted them with “Knife to meet ya”. A little unsettling that he was pretty cheery despite the dark circumstances.

 

Alice nodded in response to Mugman’s statement, pulling out her magic sensing map. She could track her halo, but they still needed to see if there was any potential danger, and, if the cog’s magic signature popped up somewhere, they would know to be wary of Holly.

 

Finley dismissed himself away from Sammy, reassuring the worried cat with a light pat and a small smile. He walked over to Alice’s side, pawing at his injured ear lightly, frowning with a grimace that he quickly erased from his face.

 

The group collected themselves, fear and anger and uncertainty mixed together. As they headed out the door, Bendy watched as a small, black feline slipped into the group, padding up beside the demon and keeping stride, gaze turned downwards and tail drooping.

 

Huh. This cat was really- strangely- persistently loyal. He wondered who it's owner was, and if they were worried about their lost cat. Then again, for a kitty, he seemed to hold his own pretty well. He'd have to check the collar's tag later so he could return the stray cat back to the owner after this whole fiasco was over.

 

Walking down to the castle was infuriating. It was slow-paced and nerve-wracking. Monsters lurked everywhere, watching them. Which were Valentine's friends, Holly's pets, or simply wild predators? Or were those all the same thing, in the end?

 

They had expected a resistance, for more snakes to pop out and attack them. So, when the castle popped into view, they were… suspicious. There was no giant bird this time. And nothing else beside rodents skittering around through trash and clutter.

 

They hesitated, sending wary glances at each other. It shouldn't be this easy.

 

Then, the cat meowed, rubbing his head against Bendy's leg. He trotted forward, tail high, towards the large stone building.

 

"Are we trusting the cat again?" Finley murmured, fidgeting lightly on his feet, flicking his blackening scarred ear.

 

"I… don't know," Bendy answered, brows furrowing. The cat glanced back at them expectantly, cocking its head slightly.

 

The cat had been helpful, yes, but… Why did it want them to go into the castle?

 

_ 'Valentine's friend, Holly's pet, or domestic cat?'  _ His mind whispered. His eyes flickered to it's collar, but he couldn't catch a glimpse of it's tag.

 

"Well, you guys planned on getting into the castle originally so, what's stopping you now?" Valentine inquired, nervously fiddling with her shirt sleeve.

 

"It's suspicious," Alice answered, gesturing with a hand around them. "Where… where are the creatures she'd usually summon?"

 

Valentine ducked her head, cheeks lightly flushed. “In-inside?”

 

“Maybe…” Boris mumbled. He glanced back at the cat as it meowed again, waving its tail. “Alice, do you know if your halo’s still in there? Maybe Holly took it somewhere else.”

 

Alice tilted her head, brows gently furrowing. She stayed for a moment like that, then nodded to herself. “Yeah. It’s still in there. Somewhere. It’s faint though. Must be near the back.”

 

“Then we should head around the back, yeah?” Mugs suggested.

 

“I have a feeling there's only one entrance. Holly can come and go whenever she wants- she wouldn’t need more than one,” Alice said. “And that one would only be for us. So she can focus on attacking us from one entry point.”

 

"Is she in there right now?" Finley asked, looking at Alice. The angel unfurled her map, reading the flashing lights on it.

 

"Holly- the cog's signal hasn't been in the castle since we were in range to pick it up."

 

"So then, she's somewhere else right now. Doing who knows what." Bendy fidgeted uncomfortably. Should they be concerned? Or relieved that they seemed to be given an opportunity to retrieve Alice's halo?

 

“Let’s just rush in,” Finley suggested, tail lashing briefly. His ear flicked. “What do we have to lose?”

 

The cat meowed loudly again, walking over and headbutting Finley’s leg gingerly. It dashed back over to the castle, scratching at the large, wooden door, asking to be let in.

 

They all traded conflicted glances, before Mugs let out a drawn-out sigh. He walked over to the door and pulled, with effort, it open. He raised a glowing finger, waiting for something to launch itself out of the entrance and maul them to pieces.

 

Nothing.

 

The cat sniffed the entrance, whiskers twitching. He glanced around warily, ears folding backwards as it cautiously padded forward, jumping slightly on its paws as it went from standing on the cold, earthy ground outside to a soft carpet inside. A low rumble left his throat as he examined the inside of the building with wide, owly eyes.

 

Cautiously, the group followed, Valentine staying outside, melting away into the shadows of broken buildings. The cat darted towards a shriveled-up plant in a pot, sniffing it curiously. The others studied the various doors along the hallway, leading up to stairs that led… Nowhere. They were cut off cleanly by the ceiling. A wooden ceiling whereas the floor below the carpet was stone.

 

Bendy clicked his tongue as he studied the amalgamation of various textures and tiles- a few patches of marble along the stone floor, a wall of slate between two doors, a random brick in the wall behind the plant. How was this place even created? Had Holly just smashed a bunch of buildings together and called it good? Had she summoned this place from who-knows-where?

 

A creak echoed throughout the hallway as Mickey pushed open a door closest to the useless stairway. They all flinched at the eerie noise, but huddled behind the mouse to check what was inside.

 

Nothing. The room only had barren, wooden walls and a ceiling. No floor. Just freshly cut grass with shiny dew drops on each blade.

 

Bendy felt a shiver go down his spine. Freaky.

 

He turned to Alice. "Do you think you could lead us to your halo? Which door do you think'll take us to it?" He couldn't sense her halo like last time. He must need to get in closer proximity to it. All he could feel was cold chills raising the hair on his arms, and smell the lingering fear from the others.

 

Alice nibbled on her lip uncertainly for a minute. She glanced down at her magic sensing map, then at the doors on the other side of the hallway. "I… think it's in that direction…" She gestured to two doors beside each other, near the stairs. "Maybe one of those two?"

 

The cat glanced at Alice, then back at the doors. He mewed, raising his tail and dashing over to the one on the left. He pawed at it.

 

"That door it is," Bendy murmured under his breath. He walked over to the door and gingerly opened it, not liking the coldness of the round knob. He swung it open all the way when he noticed that there was only more door-filled hallway behind it. "Lead the way, cat-dog."

 

The cat stared at him for a moment before it seemed to brighten, dashing forward and investigating every door, nose and whiskers twitching. The others followed it slowly. Alice glanced around, brows furrowed, trying to concentrate on where her halo was.

 

She stopped in front of a door that had a chunk taken out of the top like some giant had thought it was a delicious chocolate bar. She muttered under her breath, "This way, maybe?"

 

The cat darted back to her, meowed, and nudged the door open easily seeing as it was too broken to properly close. Alice followed the feline without hesitance, and, of course, the others trailed after the angel.

 

Another hallway, except this time at the end of the hallway there was a large, sharp symbol carved into the wall.

 

Bendy tensed.  _ 'Runes.' _

 

But, there was no golden flash, and no sudden appearance of any hooved creatures. He let out a short breath of relief, his brother smiling reassuringly at him.

 

The cat puffed up at the sight of it before calming down too. He glanced around, whiskers twitching. Alice examined one of the doors with interest, but the cat yowled for her attention as it barrelled towards the runed wall. As it touched the symbol with it's paws, the rune glowed harshly. Bendy shut his eyes with a hiss.

 

As the flash died down, he opened his eyes, waiting for the spots dancing in his vision to leave.

 

He blinked. The cat was gone.

 

"What in the-?" Finley blinked too, tilting his head. He winced and his hand flew up to his scarred ear. Pain flashed in his eyes before he recollected himself.

 

"Oh," Alice said softly, coming to a realization. "There's probably a bunch of runes leading to different places."

 

"So, do we… use the rune, or…?" Finley asked.

 

"Well, we won't get anywhere opening doors leading to nowhere," Boris piped up. Mickey nodded his agreement, and Bendy was inclined to agree too.

 

Mugs hesitantly approached the rune, placing his hand on it. With a flash, he too vanished. Reluctantly, the others followed suit, finding themselves in a new place composed completely of stone, darkness and cold air.

 

A loud squawk made them all jump as a cat-bird appeared from around a corner. The griffin threw its wings up, jerking itself backwards and into a stone wall. The wings curled around itself as it stood on two hind legs. One was burned, feathers blackened and twisted. It seemed to struggle with something- was it holding something it's talons? It was hard to judge. It's wings blocked their view.

 

It let out a strangled cry, shaking dramatically.

 

They all stared at the griffin fearfully, any weapons they had held out in front of them. When the griffin didn't attack, just struggled with whatever it held, they all hesitantly glanced at each other, confused.

 

The cat stepped forward, meowing. The griffin cut it off, screeching frantically. The cat tried again, dipping its head respectfully. A noise rose in the griffin's throat, a sign of nervousness that was extremely human-like for a weird cat-bird to make.

 

The griffin flared out it's wings as it stumbled forward, nearly making Mugs shoot it from the sudden movement. The griffin crashed to the floor, curling in on itself, maneuvering whatever it held so it was tucked under it's uninjured wing. Bendy caught a glimpse, but the shadows made it hard to see. A bag, maybe?

 

The cat meowed to the griffin reassuringly, holding up a paw. The griffin chirped, backing up towards an exit. It glanced at the toons, beady eyes wide and fearful. It's gaze caught on Mugs's glowing fingers and it bolted out of the room.

 

"Uh… do we…Do we follow it?" Mugs asked uncertainly.

 

"Why should we?" Finley questioned, flicking his ear irritatedly, distracted by it and frowning at it.

 

"Because it's the only creature we've seen since entering this starfallen place?" Bendy responded, flicking his spiked tail.

 

"...My halo isn't in the direction it was fleeing towards," Alice murmured, glancing around. She pointed down a hallway connected to the room. "That way?"

 

Bendy could feel it now. At least, he thought he did. Maybe it was just Alice's typical angel aura, but he thought he could sense the halo nearby. A distance away, yes, but, still,  _ somewhere. _

 

He started heading the way Alice had indicated, falling into step beside her. Mugs, Boris and Mickey all glanced in the direction of the griffin, but they walked after the demon and angel, Finley and the cat right behind them. The cat meowed, quietly, to Finley, ears flat against it's skull. The fox didn't even glance at the cat, pawing at his scarred ear.

 

Bendy would have asked if he was okay, but then he felt the familiar aura of the halo appear stronger, and he got distracted. He saw Alice perk up beside him, feeling the halo getting closer in proximity to them. The two of them picked up the pace, going from room to room, door to door, hallway to hallway.

 

They hit three dead ends until they came across another rune. They eagerly touched this one, appearing in a new room. This one was still stone, but there was a wooden table in it and only one door on the opposite side.

 

And there was the halo, sitting, glowing, on top.

 

Alice eagerly darted forward, reaching out for her halo. But she yelped as she was zapped, yanking her hand back as electricity sparked as a barrier lit up around the halo. Runes were etched into the table in a circle around the halo.

 

Mickey made a noise deep in his throat that he winced at. His eyes flashed with familiarity at the runes.

 

Bendy didn't have time to question or ponder, as the room lit up with a bright, blinding golden light.

 

And there, as the lightshow dimmed down, was Holly, sitting upon her throne, the cog. She glared at them with dark, abyssal eyes full, glittering, of hate, disgust and wrath.

 

"You weren't supposed to-" She snapped before cutting herself off. Her black eyes caught on the cat cowering on the ground behind Finley. Bendy couldn't tell if her anger increased tenfold or dissipated, because she forced a smile upon her face as she said, "I see."

 

And then there were more blinding lights, and the next thing Bendy saw was the open sky, filled with dark, stormy clouds twisting like smoke. He yelled out for a moment, attempting to turn around, only to find himself dropping to the ground, his face slamming into dirt. He groaned, pushing up and rubbing his face as it ached and stung all over.

 

He didn't have time to think as he felt hooves slam into his side, knocking him over. For a heart-stopping, panicked moment, he thought,  _ 'Unicorns!',  _ but he was relieved to find it was just those stupid winged deers from before. Well, he supposed he shouldn't be relieved, as the deer angrily stared him down with malicious intent equivalent to those cursed demon-hunting glitter ponies.

 

Yelping, he dodged out of the way as the deer charged him. He ran into someone, knocking them over. It was Boris. He quickly helped his brother up before pulling out of the way of a fire tiger leaping for him hungrily, eyes glinting.

 

The two of them bolted away from the predator and prey as they chased after them. Bendy examined their situation- they had been teleported outside of the castle, right in front of it, along with a bunch of other angry animals. A whole herd of winged deers, a griffin- not the cowardly one from before, a fire tiger, that giant eagle, three ground snakes, and a giant armadillo with spikes. And a dire wolf stood off to the side too, watching the chaos from atop the roof of a destroyed jewelry shop.

 

"Oh cuss, oh no," Bendy cursed, eyes widening at the mayhem. How were they going to get out of this one? There was no way they could fight all of them off- Mugs was handling two of the ground snakes, but then the third popped up behind him for revenge and he was thrown off his game, struggling to defend himself. The fire tiger diverted its path away from the B-brothers and attacked a deer as it got too close to Alice, but then immediately lunged for Mickey as he fended off a griffin with a meek, short knife. Bendy had to duck out of the way as a deer soared past him. Boris scrambled over to him, yelling as that spiked armadillo nearly flattened him. And where was Finley?

 

Bendy caught sight of the cat as it dipped under the belly of the fire tiger, then crashed into Alice's leg in the confusion. It opened its mouth to meow, but Bendy couldn't even hear it over the roaring and bleating and screeching.

 

Fear scents crowded his nostrils, nearly suffocating him in the delicious, tempting urge to just go wild and  _ feast. _

 

He leaped back, away from his brother, afraid of his own sudden urges. He breathed in deeply, trying to calm himself and push it away, but he didn't get time as the deer came swooping in from above and the armadillo rolled forward as a curled up, spiky ball. He grabbed Boris's hand and forced him to drop down with him, ducking away from the deer and rolling away from the armadillo ball. Bendy's tail was not so lucky and he cried out as he felt it get smashed. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes.

 

Boris had to pull Bendy backwards as the demon was hunched over, cradling his poor tail. It burned, it ached! Cussing, sunblazing stardust! It  _ hurt! _

 

But he was dragged back to his senses forcefully as a fire tiger swiped it's claws at him, roaring furiously. It lunged again, but was cut off as the griffin swooped in and clawed at its face. The tiger growled wrathfully, snarling at the cat-bird. The two had a vendetta against each other, which resulted in in-fighting. Bendy was grateful for the distraction, using it to sneak him and Boris away from the vicious beasts.

 

Still, they had to dip and dodge out of the way of the winged deers as they dove down at them. Bendy wasn't aware of how much time passed in the panic, he was just caught up in the irregular pattern of defending himself and his brother, dodging Holly's bloodthirsty creatures, but he sure noticed when there was a break in that pattern.

 

There was a brief flash of light, and Finley appeared, crashing into the ground. He immediately shot upwards, tumbling slightly, making the motion of coughing although Bendy couldn't hear him. He looked pale, sickly even, his scarred ear blacker than ever and twitching rapidly. In his hand he clutched the glowing halo tightly. Alice gasped- again, Bendy could only infer so based on actions rather than sound.

 

He tossed it to Alice who desperately grasped at it, a brief flicker of a smile appearing on her mouth. She stumbled slightly, nearly stepping on the black cat behind her. She mouthed "Thank you". Well, she probably said it, but, again, Bendy could hardly hear over all the calamity of the creatures fighting each other and the toons.

 

Another bright flash appeared behind Finley, followed by an enraged shriek from none of other than Holly herself, the witch of the hour.

 

She yelled something at Finley, something Bendy didn't catch as he had to duck under the flying hooves of a maddened deer.

 

Holly swung around on her cog, eyes locking onto Alice and the halo. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Redeem yourself, traitor!" What? "Get it!" She snapped, and then disappeared in a bright flash.

 

She wasn't talking to Alice.

 

Because it was the cat that jumped upwards, from a rock onto Alice's shoulders, and snatched the halo right out of her grip. It leaped off of her as she was left, stunned and processing what was happening. It bolted into the wreckage of the town, past Valentine who had been lurking in the shadows of an alleyway.

 

_ 'Holly's pet,'  _ his mind whispered the answer from an earlier question softly.

 

The dire wolf jumped after the cat, picking it up by the scruff as it tumbled. They vanished into the shadows, leaving behind the chaos of a highly dangerous battle, and a demon as he boiled over with unrepressed, hot rage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no... Seems everything's gone haywire... And my random injury-death generator has been calmly waiting off to the side. Let's see what it has in store for us next chapter, 16: Point of No Return, shall we?
> 
> And, on a happier note, here's some wonderful fanart of Cog!Holly by [fantastickingdomus](https://fantastickingdomus.tumblr.com/) !! It's absolutely wonderful!!  
> 
> 
> Thank you for reading, stay tuned for next chapter, good luck, and good writing!


	16. Point of No Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter in which Felix has to decide where his loyalties really lies...
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading ;)

**Chapter Sixteen: Point of No Return**

 

Felix remained as still as he could in the dire wolf's grasp, feeling his fangs dig softly into his flesh and collar as he held him like how mother cats held their kittens. Felix's tail curled upwards between his hind legs, and his front paws were held against his chest.

 

He dared not breath. He dared not move. He dared not do anything, because  _ what the  _ **_hell_ ** _ had he just done. _

 

He was so, so stupid. Holly had given him instructions to, and he quoted, "let them roam around the castle a bit", and to "steer them away from danger". He had followed both of those instructions. The one he had ignored was not letting them near the halo.

 

But, he figured, if he let them wonder around the castle, and they so happened upon the halo, was he really at fault? He didn't even know where it was anyway, and he could say he tried to stop them. She was at fault for leaving it there so obviously.

 

But, Holly had seen right through his plans. She knew the moment she locked eyes with him that he had purposely allowed them to stumble upon the halo.

 

Of course, what followed was not pretty.

 

Finley had gotten the halo- somehow, Felix didn't know how. Why had he appeared later than the others? Why hadn't Holly sent him with the others outside? Why did she let him stay? To talk to him? But about what?

 

Whatever happened, happened, and the next thing Felix knew, he was ripping the halo out of Alice's hands at Holly's command, spurred on by wild, suffocating fear.

 

And stars was his head screaming  _ 'You shouldn't have done that! You shouldn't have done that!' _

 

But he  _ had. Again. _

 

The dire wolf faltered in his steps, spiking fear through Felix as he clutched tighter onto the halo between his fangs, with enough pressure he was afraid his teeth would crack. The canine wasn't used to the cluttered rubble of a destroyed town. He was used to fields and forests and caves, as the wolf revealed as he grunted in pain, shaking his paw lightly after it got caught on a dead vine.

 

The wolf took off again, darting forward with strength and speed, but yelped as his footing was lost again. He tumbled forward, his grip on Felix disappearing, leaving the cat to slam into the ground and roll. The halo slipped from his grasp, rolling a few good paces away.

 

Felix hissed in pain- his paw pad had gotten cut on a stray shard of glass. Grunting, he shakily forced himself up, shaking his dusty pelt. He gave his paw a quick lick instinctively before attempting to walk forward. He wobbled towards the halo, reaching out for it-

 

Only for it to be snatched up into gloved claws of something  _ angry. _

 

Felix physically recoiled at the sudden hot rage and fury directed at him. He felt it roll off the creature in fierce, highly agitated waves. He heard the threatening hiss and his muscles locked up, forcing him into a submissive position fearfully.

 

Trembling, his gaze travelled up, summoning what little courage Felix seemed to have at the moment. He stared into the blazing red eyes of a ticked off demon.

 

_ 'Bendy.' _

 

Felix's claws slid out and curled into the hard dirt below, a patch of earth amongst the stone-floored alleyway they found themselves in. Cardboard littered the ground.

 

" _ You, _ " the demon snarled. "It was  _ you. _ " His spiked tail, which was looking sharper than normal, lashed viciously, dangerously. " _ You  _ stole  _ it. _ " He clutched the halo so forcefully in his claws that Felix was afraid it might snap in half. "You're one of Holly's  _ pets _ ." He spat the word with disgust. It made Felix squirm, forcing him to look at the ground in shame.

 

The demon curled his lips, showing off his rather sharp, rather terrifying fangs. Stars, being a tiny, tiny cat in such a big, big world was  _ horrifying.  _ If Bendy was a stereotypical demon, he could devour Felix in one bite, and that was a thought Felix never thought he would think about the once cheerful kid who had loved his books so dearly.

 

The dire wolf stepped in front of Felix protectively, snarling at Bendy despite his own fear towards the demon. Or, the "runty dark one", as he called the demon as he threatened him with a warning the demon would never hear.

 

Bendy glowered at the two with enough hate that made Felix believe he was ready to kill him and the wolf. He probably was.

 

Felix tried to utter out an apology, but he couldn't. His jaw just trembled in agonizing fear. Not that it would matter- he wouldn't understand Felix anyway. He would just hear pitiful meows.

 

The demon took a step forward, the hand without the halo flexing his fingers-  _ claws. _

 

The wolf growled.  _ I'll distract the dark pup, you grab the light ring. Then we'll retreat back to Alpha. _

 

Felix trembled at the very thought. He tried to whisper something hoarsely out, tried to say no. He wouldn't, couldn't. He had done too much irreparable damage already. But his fear prevented him from speaking.

 

But the dire wolf understood loud and clear. He whipped his head around, snarling harshly,  _ You deny my order?!?! You defy our great Alpha's wants?! You pathetic, cowardly cat!  _ The wolf lunged forward, large fangs snapping into his shoulder and tossing him aside like trash. Felix let himself be thrown, slamming against the wall of a ruined building.

 

The wolf whipped around, lunging at Bendy. The demon threw his hands up in defense and the canine's fangs wrapped around the halo, trying to yank it out of the demon's grasp.

 

The wolf used his weight to push Bendy backwards, eyes narrowed. Bendy's red eyes blazed furiously, tail whipping wildly, cutting a clean slice onto the wolf's leg accidentally. The two tussled, trying to push one another away. They both kept an iron grip on the halo stubbornly.

 

The wolf forced Bendy backwards and backwards until they were out of the alleyway, leaving Felix behind in the dust and shadows, bleeding heavily from his shoulder. He tried to stumble after them, wanting to see the results of the fight. Who did he even want to win? His heart said Bendy, his mind said Bendy, but some small,  _ pathetic, cowardly _ part of him said the dire wolf, so that when he faced Holly again the punishment wouldn't be as awful.

 

He stumbled around blindly, unable to locate where the demon and wolf went. Crying out softly, he tripped over a dead vine. A familiar dead vine. He could retrace his steps back to the battlefield where it was toons versus Holly's creatures.

 

_ 'Holly's creatures,'  _ his thoughts repeated like a horrible echo.  _ 'You're one of Holly's  _ pets. _ ' _

 

He choked down an ugly sob, forcing himself to continue onwards, wobbling back to the fight. How long had he been gone? No more than five minutes surely. So how long would it take him to get back? Ten? Twenty?

 

It felt like an hour had passed by the time he reached the battlefield. He tripped over his own paws, faint from exhaustion, overexertion, and blood loss.

 

He forced himself to examine the fight. It still raged on, the creatures with the upper hand- paws? Hooves? That didn't matter right now. What mattered was that the creatures were winning and the toons, his  _ friends _ , were  _ losing.  _

 

_ 'This is my fault,'  _ he thought bitterly.  _ 'If I had prevented them from finding the halo, Holly wouldn't have done this. No one would be injured. Bendy wouldn't be so angry at me. They wouldn't know I was a traitor. I could redeem myself.' _

 

_ '"Redeem yourself, traitor!"'  _ Holly's words repeated relentlessly in his head. He was a traitor to both sides- both packs. The dire wolf was right. He was a dishonorable packmate.

 

He watched as the toons were pushed further and further back. Why hadn't they retreated yet? This was a prime opportunity-

 

_ Finley was dead. _

 

Felix went numb, staring at the corpse. It was closer to him than to the others. How had he not noticed it sooner? The fox was just lying there, foaming at the mouth, eyes rolled back, tongue hanging out. Puss and dark liquid oozed from his scarred ear, along with a dark liquid that leaked from his mouth alongside the foam.

 

No, no, no, nonononono _ nonononono _ . This couldn't be  _ happening.  _ He  _ followed  _ Holly's  _ instructions.  _ He wasn't dead! He couldn't be! Surely he had just- Felix didn't know- fainted? He couldn't-

 

There! A light twitch of his fingers. He was alive! He hadn't died yet! Strangled relief flew through Felix as he leaped from the ledge he stood on, darting over to the fox. He had to save him! Somehow!

 

He placed a paw on Finley's shoulder, putting his ear to his chest, just to make sure-

 

There was the faintest heartbeat. A ragged breath forced itself out of Felix. He pushed his face against the curve of Finley's neck, nudging his head.

 

"Fin, Fin,  _ please,  _ I'm sorry, get up. You can't- you can't-!" He broke off with a strangled cry as the fox remained unresponsive, merely twitching his tail.

 

Not knowing what to do, he dug his claws into Finley's flesh hoping the pain would jerk him into responsiveness. The only thing that happened was beads of blood dripping through the fox's fur and coating Felix's claws.

 

_ 'The first real blood I've drawn with my claws-'  _ He thought before cutting himself off, traumatized by the very thought.

 

Felix roughly tried shaking Finley, faintly aware of the screams of the others, calling for their friend to get up and prove he was alive just like Felix was. "Get up!" Felix pleaded. "They need you! We need you! You can't  _ die _ !"

 

His head dropped to the curve of Finley's neck again, hot tears steaming down his face and into the fox's fur. "Get  _ up _ ," Felix sobbed, listening to the fox's distant heartbeat.

 

It beat, softly, once, twice… then it stopped.

 

Felix cried, yowling to the sky, digging his claws into the fox's skin hopelessly, face pressed against his neck, desperately trying to commit his scent to memory before it was replaced by the rotting stench of death.

 

He was so stupid! Why, why, why didn't he question what liquid was inside the needle?! Why, why, why didn't he use  _ more  _ of the liquid if it really was a cure?!?! Why, why, why didn't he try harder to save Finley?! He was so  _ STUPID _ ! A gullible, foolish,  _ pathetic, cowardly cat! _

 

He wailed, the mournful cry muffled by Finley's fur.

 

He was  _ gone.  _ And Felix had killed him.

 

\--------

 

Tears streamed down Alice's face, her lip trembling. Sammy wailed beside her, refusing her comfort, refusing to believe her and the others as they told him about what happened. That Finley was dead.

 

"Wh-Where's his body then?! I-If he-he's r-really d-d-d-de- GONE, th-then where- where's his body?!" The distressed cat stuttered out, tears pricking at his eyes, ears flat, fur puffed out. His whole body shook.

 

Shame and guilt hit Alice hard, making her wince. "I- Sammy. We- I'm sorry, but we had to leave him behind… The animals wouldn't let us, we had no choice."

 

"LIAR!" Sammy's hands flew to his ears, cupping them as he trembled. She could feel like his sharp sadness like a fresh cut on her skin- which she had plenty of. He mourned the loss of his best friend deeply, yet also refused to accept it. "He's still-! What if he's still out there, and you just- you just  _ left  _ him to DIE!" The cat screeched.

 

"Sammy, dear, I know it's hard," Granny Gopher soothed, placing a shaking yet steady hand onto his back. She was crying herself, drying her tears with a handkerchief. "We all miss him dearly. He was a good fox and a good friend."

 

Sammy shook dangerously. "I-" He sniffled, trying to silence his sobs. "He's, he's… We had pl-plans… He- he wanted to-to make it b-big… He can't j-just be  _ gone.  _ He's still alive. He's strong! He- He… he'll save himself! I know he will!"

 

"Dear…" Granny said softly, her eyes watery but understanding. Sammy crumpled, wrapping his arms around her in a hug that she returned warmly, gently squeezing him. "I understand how you feel. It's not easy to lose a dear friend."

 

Sammy wailed, insisting he wasn't dead still, and that they didn't have his body, so if he was, they couldn't even have a proper funeral.

 

The others watched him sob his eyes out, their own tears and sobbing hearts going out to him. Boris sniffled in a corner, rubbing his nose and wiping snot away, mourning Finley and worrying over his brother who had gotten lost. The last Valentine had seen of him being him chasing after Alice's halo and it's thieves. Mugman rubbed his back in circles, awkwardly trying to help the crying wolf pup. Wiston had frozen up, shaking, tears unable to fall. His head was against his older brother's chest, and Fireball was seated beside him, cawing gently. Snowball was floating between everybody, meeping in confusion, trying to understand why everyone was so depressed. Even Dr. Oddswell had his head dipped in mourning.

 

Alice rubbed her arm, watching her own droplets of sorrow fall to the ground. She couldn't believe this had happened… Finley was a young man, he didn't deserve this. He was innocent, yet he had gotten caught in all this. For a friend he was determined to save. For a friend who had led him to his demise.

 

Alice's thoughts were cut off as the door swung open with an obnoxiously loud creak. Who was that? Her barrier would prevent anyone from coming in, so it had to be someone she trusted.

 

Rain poured in for a second, the storm clouds above having decided today was the day that they burst. In walked Bendy with the rain, clothes drenched. But to his credit, he didn't shiver.

 

No, his eyes glowed a dull red, and blood soaked his right hand, nearly making it impossible to see the white of his glove beneath. A dim, yet harsh, wave of anger made Alice jerk backwards, afraid.

 

But she couldn't focus on that.

 

She could only focus on the fox slung over his shoulder. A tattered ear eerily stood out. Alice's breath stopped, then skipped, then continued raggedly.

 

Finley. Finley, oh… poor, poor Finley… He didn't look serene in death at all. He just looked dead.

 

Sammy screamed, then bolted over to the corpse of his beloved fox friend as Bendy gently laid him down on the couch.

 

"Finley, no," Sammy cried, over and over, holding his limp hand and shaking. "It can't be true, you can't be dead. Finley, please!"

 

Bendy watched Sammy grieve over Finley for a few moments, then he calmly approached Alice. He lifted his hand out to the angel. For a moment, she was confused, then she realized he held a shining, glowing ring in his hand.

 

"My halo…" she breathed out, not even realizing she said it. She gingerly took it from his grasp, ignoring how one of his hands was bloody. Her halo. Finley had  _ died _ getting this. "Thank you," she mumbled out to the demon. A tear slipped down her cheek. Slowly, she raised the halo, letting it float above her head. She sighed wistfully at the familiar feeling invoked from it.

 

Bendy nodded to her and silently walked over to his brother and Mugman.

 

Alice's gaze remained on Sammy wailing over the corpse of Finley, remembering everything the fox had done for her and others.

 

He didn't deserve to die like this.

 

\--------

 

He stumbled over his own paws, dazed and weak. His breath rasped, coughing out droplets of blood. His tail kinked behind him, trying to keep him balanced on four paws.

 

He had searing claw marks across his left side, bloodying it past recognition. It was a wound not caused by the wolf, but rather an angry friend who was rather upset to find the traitorous cat beside his friend's lifeless corpse.

 

Everything hurt, but not as much as the thoughts of what he had done. His eyes were puffy from tears he had endlessly cried.

 

He didn't know what to do. His paws were taking him back to Oddswell's house. He didn't know where else to go.

 

Even as he slowly bled out to death, he lit up at the sight of the house. He meowed as loud as he could over the rain, approaching the window that had been shattered by a rock. He could only get so far, though. The invisible barrier prevented him from getting closer.

 

He yowled again, desperate for some kind of attention.

 

Someone moved passed the window. They shouted back to the people further in the house. "It's the witch's cat!"

 

There was some sort of argument inside, muffled by the walls and rain, and then an object was flung at the cat.

 

He mrrowed wildly, jumping away to avoid getting hit. He twisted his front paw, face planting. As he shoved himself up, he swayed, falling to the side. The cardboard under him slowly slipped, and he was sent tumbling down the hill the house resided on.

 

He let himself roll, not even trying to stop himself.

 

Numbly, weakly, he heaved himself up when he reached the bottom.

 

With nowhere else to go, he found his paws dragging him back to the castle.

 

Back to Holly.

 

He shakingly navigated the corridors, the edges of his vision fading to black as his life inched closer and closer to death.

 

He was surprised he even found Holly amidst the labyrinth of hallways and rooms.

 

She leaned over a table, cog floating beside her menacingly. The griffin was curled up in a corner, shivering. The dire wolf sat beside her, hunched over with his head bowed submissively, face etched with the expression of a kicked puppy. When he saw the cat walk in, he raised his head, lips pulled back in a snarl.  _ Traitor. _

 

It stung. It really stung.

 

Holly whipped around, her dark, dark, terrifying eyes snapping onto the cat. Wild anger and aggravation seething out of her, she stomped over and snatched him up roughly by the scruff, choking him slightly.

 

"You failed to retrieve the halo," Holly snarled, eyes more horrifying than a demon's red eyes, yet somehow they stung less.

 

"You disobeyed orders," she snapped, her grip strengthening, digging into his fur.

 

"You foolishly thought you could trick me." Her lip curled, eyes narrowing further. She stared at him for an agonizing moment, and then the corners of her lips twitched upwards, forming the tiniest smile.

 

"Yet here you are." She raised her head proudly as his gaze dropped. Using two fingers from her other hand, she tipped his chin upwards, forcing him to look at her.

 

"You came crawling back," she purred sweetly. She suddenly tossed him to the ground, forcefully. He grunted, feeling burning pain crawl through him. The griffin squawked as he landed near his talons.

 

Holly kneeled down over him, lifting a golden, glowing hand that made him sick to his stomach. She placed it on his clawed side.

 

"Don't move. I'm gonna make this sting."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: Finley's death actually started in Chapter 8: Divide and Conquer! If you remember, I said that the random death generator chose one of them to die, but said it was too early to kill them... Well... I lied ;) They were dying, just slowly. It's up for you to decide if Felix helped progress his death, or slowed it down, and if he had tried harder, if he could have prevented it...
> 
> And isn't it funny to think only Holly, Bendy, Wakko, Boris and Dr. Oddswell knew Finley had ink illness in this alternate timeline? I was tempted to have him die from an ink attack... But I decided against it for something a little more slow. :) Thanks for reading, stay tuned for next chapter- 17: Fire and Snow, good luck and good writing!


	17. Fire and Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings! Welcome to another chapter~ Some events are referenced from Snowball's Day Out in Inky Extras. Again, not needed to understand this chapter, but definitely recommended to read if you haven't!
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading! ;)

**Chapter Seventeen: Fire and Snow**

 

"Your failure to keep the fox alive could be beneficial to us," Holly said, twirling Felix's collar around on her fingers. She hummed. "Such a shame he had to go, but fate had her cruel, cruel fingers curled around him. You tried your best, really Felix. Don't beat yourself up over it. Toons die all the time. He's just another casualty."

 

_ 'No he's not,'  _ Felix thought, curling his claws into the ground and biting his tongue to keep from arguing. Arguing with Holly resulted in nothing but punishment. Going against her was futile.  _ 'And by fate, you just mean  _ you. _ ' _

 

"The others' will be distracted after Finley's death," she explained, fiddling with the tag of Felix's collar.

 

_ 'Distracted? Did you mean, ' _ mourning _ '?'  _ Felix thought hotly. His tail snaked around his paws as he hunched over, guilt-ridden.

 

She rolled the cog tag over her fingers, examining it like she was looking for some sort of flaw in the tag. “They won’t be able to focus on anything else.”

 

_ ‘Yeah, I cussing wonder why,’  _ the bitter thought rose like bile in his throat, nearly forcing itself out of his mouth.

 

“It’s a perfect opportunity to attack them, weaken and distract them further.”

 

Felix jerked his head up involuntarily, eyes wide. The words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them. “You can’t!”

 

“Oh?” Holly smiled loftily, amused by his actions. “Why can’t I?”

 

Felix cleared his throat, running his tongue over the roof of his mouth nervously. The responses of “They’re your friends!” and “It’s not morally right!” died the moment he thought of them. Those were pathetic excuses that would never work on Holly. He glanced to the ground, ears falling. Holly’s contemptuous smile got wider at his lack of reasons.

 

Taking a deep breath, he raised his head, his defiance slowly coming back. He stared Holly straight in her hollow, black eyes. “What can I do to stop you?”

 

Holly grinned brightly, pleased with his response. He was finally playing her game, after all.

 

“Glad you asked!” She kneeled down, reaching over with the collar in her hands. Felix flinched before going rigid as she clipped the collar around his neck, backing off. She stood up, brushing dust off her dirty, bloodied and ashy skirt. “It’s quite simple, really. I’ll be sending a multitude of animals to attack the house or anyone who dare goes near it. With the others mourning Fin, they’ll have a harder time fending the monsters off. Your task? Lure the weaker creatures I send towards the house first. That way, the others will at least have an easy warm-up to get them back in the mood of fighting for their very survival.”

 

For a moment, Felix didn’t respond. He doesn’t  _ want  _ to do this. But he  _ had  _ to. He reluctantly nodded, the action feeling heavy and forced. Holly smiled, bright and cheery and oh so creepy, at him.

 

“Good! Then you better be on your way, hmm?” There’s a glimmer of satisfaction in her obsidian eyes that made Felix’s hair stand on end. He bowed briefly before swiftly turning around and leaving the room. The chill of dark magic faded as he walked away from her, but the ominous feeling of piercing black eyes watching his every pawstep never left.

 

He sucked in a breath of cold air, trying to calm his nerves. He tightly shut his eyes closed, letting his paws instinctively guide him to the switch rune that would take him to the house. He was so focused on clearing his thoughts that he didn’t hear the soft padding of pawsteps heading towards him. He yelped as he crashed into a  _ hot _ , nearly hot enough to burn him, pelt of sharp fur. He jerked backwards, stumbling and falling on his tail. His gaze shot upwards, scanning the large beast in front of him. Fear locked him in place, his tail puffing up.

 

_ ‘Fire tiger.’ _

 

The fire tiger stared him down with a steeled gaze of elegance and grace, and the  _ terrifying  _ gleam of a predator waiting for an easy meal. The strong waves of heat emanating off of the feline added to the overall horror of it.

 

“U-Uh,” Felix stuttered out, shaking slightly. He had been so confident facing fire tigers before! But now? He was a small black cat the perfect size for his evolutionary cousin’s mouth.

 

To his shock, the fire tiger lowered its head to sniff him. He flinched away, trying to scramble away from the big, scary monster. Its light-colored eyes widened a fraction, a certain softness to them.

 

_ You are the cat person I fought amongst the flames before,  _ the fire tiger grunted, flicking an ear. She was female. Felix didn’t know exactly how he knew. Her scent, maybe? It smelled sort of… milky. Sweet, soft, motherly. Aside from smelling like fire and ash, of course.  _ You are small now, young one. _

 

“Erm- uh, y-yeah… I was cursed-... turned into a cat,” he mumbled weakly, curling in on himself.

 

_ You speak feline’s tongue oddly, young one.  _ There was a certain kindness to her tone and actions. Like she was deliberately making them small and slow as if not to frighten him.  _ Did your mother not teach you the ways of a feline? _

 

“Uh, n-no. I mean- I was  _ turned  _ into a cat, so I’ve only been speaking, uh, feline’s tongue for a few days,” Felix explained. He was slowly calming under the tiger’s steady, warm gaze.

 

The fire tiger cocked her head to the side, pitying him for his unfortunate circumstances. She waved her tail gently.  _ When the Darkness Master struck you down- is that when you changed into a cat, young one? _

 

“Darkness Master?” He repeated slowly. Then, it clicked. “Holly? Yes, I believe so.” He recalled the event, and how  _ painful  _ it had been. He shivered at the memory.

 

The fire tiger crooned soothingly.  _ Have no fear, young one. You are here now, alive and well. _

 

Felix winced.  _ ‘ _ I  _ am alive and well, but the others… Finley…’ _

 

The fire tiger let out a low grunting sound that resembled something of a bark.  _ Do not recall memories that torment you, young one.  _ She leaned forward and gently nudged his forehead with her large, soft nose.  _ We all have times of failure. I failed as a Guardian, and I have lost my cubs. _

 

Felix hesitantly perked up. “Guardian?”

 

She nodded.  _ My species are Guardians, raised to protect thrones, temples and shrines. I left my duty as a Guardian to raise my cubs.  _ She blinked sadly.

 

“But… you said you lost your cubs?” He murmured lightly, afraid to offend the much larger cat.

 

A sad crooning noise rumbled deep in her throat.  _ Yes. My precious children. When I was summoned here by the Darkness Master, they were not at my belly. I searched for them, but they were nowhere near me. The Darkness Master keeps summoning me to fight her foes, cutting my searches short. I have protected the Great Lady in hopes she could help me search, but she remains beside the demon and her friends loyally. _

 

Felix let the information sink in. Great Lady? Who was that? His mind flickered to Snowball calling Alice the Light Lady. The fire tiger also mentioned a demon- Bendy? So the Great Lady was Alice, then. He blinked, signaling for the fire tiger to continue.

 

_ I wish to contact the Darkness Master. Perhaps she could summon my cubs to me. I do not know how long they will last without my protection and guidance. They have only just started weaning.  _ She bowed her head, as if mourning the death of her children already.

 

An idea popped into Felix’s head. “I could… I know the Darkness Master. I could convince her to summon your cubs.” He frowned. “She’ll probably still summon you to battle, away from them, but…” He tilted his head. “You could be a Guardian for her castle. Then, you could stay in here with your cubs. You’d be with them more often.”

 

The tiger perked up, making a sound that was a mix between purring and crooning. She was over ecstatic at the idea.  _ Thank you, young one. _

 

Felix smiled. “N-No problem.” He flicked his ear, glancing behind himself. He took a deep breath, and then retraced his steps back to Holly. He could only hope she agreed to bring the mournful mother’s cubs back.

 

\-------

 

Snowball nuzzled the side of Scribbler’s neck, meeping sympathetically. The big cat person shook, tears falling from his eyes faster than the rain from yesterday. She stayed in the crook of his neck for a long time, trying to comfort the crying cat, but he didn’t respond or acknowledge her.

 

The dandehog let out a tiny sigh. Normally the big people always found her cute and got happy when she nuzzled them. But now? They were very sad, too sad for Snowball to make them feel better. She meeped lightly into Scribbler’s ear as he weeped, telling him that everything would be okay soon. Then, she leaped off of his shoulder and floated over to Little Dark and Nice Beast.

 

She gently landed on Little Dark’s head. She liked the way the warm magic turned nice and cold when she touched him, normally, but currently there were soft waves of hot anger coming from the dark pup. The angry waves had settled down from yesterday, and Little Dark’s red eyes had returned to normal, but he was still agitated.

 

“Meep,” she said, asking Little Dark if he was okay. Unlike Scribbler, Dark responded to her question, his gaze flickering up to her as she leaned over his head. Nice Beast stared at her too, giving her a small, yet very sad smile. His eyes were wet and puffy.

 

“Hey, Snowy,” Little Dark greeted her, reaching a hand up to pet her. She meeped, leaping into his hand cheerfully. He lowered his arm, using his other hand to scratch behind her head absentmindedly as he returned to his quiet conversation with Nice Beast. Snowball ignored most of it, leaning into Dark’s dreamy touch. Not only was being pet a wonderful experience for the young dandehog, but it seemed to relieve a little bit of Little Dark’s stress, even if subconsciously.

 

When the young dark one stopped petting her, she let out a short meep of protest, before quieting herself as the wolf pup pulled Little Dark in for a hug, shoulders shaking slightly. She scrambled out of Little Dark’s hand and onto his shoulder. She stayed for a moment, watching, before she straightened her bristles out and took to the air.

 

She flew onto a fire holder that’s flame had disappeared, a crack along the outer shell of it. She readjusted herself and then launched herself at the open moving tree, landing on the top of the tree. Door, as that strange cat Felix called it. Then, she dropped down and floated onto a four-legged tree that had been tipped onto its side in the room on the other side of the moving door.

 

She meeped and flew over to the old gopher, the Great Mother who cared for all the big people in her burrow like they were her young nestlings. Great Mother was talking to the lady who had healed the big people’s wounds when they got injured. Snowball landed softly on the gopher’s shoulder.

 

“Meep meep,” she stated. The younger big people were still sad. Could Great Mother comfort them again like she did last night, and make them less sad?

 

The old gopher sighed to the Healing Lady before smiling at Snowball. “Hello, little one.” She reached a shaking, old hand up to pat Snow’s head tenderly. “We not giving you enough attention?”

 

Snowball shook her head. “Meep meep!” She wanted the big people to be happy first, then they could give her attention. They still had to save her mother too.

 

Great Mother chuckled. Snowball huffed in frustration as the big person didn’t understand her ‘little creature words’, as Felix put it.

 

“She must be missing Holly,” Healing Lady murmured, her eyes watching Snowball carefully, cautiously. “She was never away from Holly long, unless it was to play in that darned cup assassin's head.”

 

Great Mother sighed again. “Ms. Red, please. Cuphead is missing. I know you don’t like him, but he deserves some concern… He and Felix haven’t been seen in days, and, considering what happened to Finley, well….” She made a choked sound, raising a hand to wipe away the dew that formed beside her warm eyes. Snowball meeped loudly in concern as the gopher started quietly crying.

 

The lady frowned, placing a comforting hand on Great Mother’s shoulder. There was a sadness in her own eyes that she tried to hide behind her stiffness and coldness.

 

“Oh, he was such a young, poor boy… He didn’t deserve a death as cruel as his, on a battlefield of wild animals…” Great Mother shook, shaking her head. “Poisoned, no less.” She let out a shaky sigh. “And he didn’t even think to tell us, the stubborn fox…” She began weeping like Scribbler was, pulling out a small, soft white pelt and dabbing under her watery eyes. Healing Lady murmured a few, soothing words to the gopher, letting her mourn. Snowball chittered, ears drooping as she nuzzled the gopher’s cheek.

 

Again, her comfort did not do much to the mourning giants. Snowball sat on the gopher’s shoulder for a long while, meeping every once and awhile, before she stretched her bristles and took off, landing on a sliver of platform beside a square of touchable air. She gazed outside with a frown. The big world outside was still dark and dangerous from Death Holly’s dark magic. Creatures ran wild, tormenting what big people had yet to find shelter.

 

Those evil creatures! Why did they do that? The big people could sometimes be mean, and were often not very bright, but they weren’t food! Like Figaro had said, food didn’t talk. Big people spoke a different kind of speech than animals, but they still talked.

 

Her thoughts were abruptly cut off as she spotted a black cat slinking along the outskirts of the burrow, just outside where Light Lady’s magic stopped. The cat glanced around warily before darting away into the shadows.

 

Strange cat! Felix! She chattered, rubbing her teeth together as she called out to the black cat. She huffed vexedly as the cat continued to ignore her, probably unable to hear her. He never ignored her before, after all. She looked angrily at the square of touchable air. How could she get passed it? Felix had done something to move the touchable air before. He had used a chunk of wood. She wouldn’t be strong enough.

 

Hopefully, she reached a paw out to touch the touchable air at the bottom, praying that it was untouchable. She cheered as her paw phased right through. She fluffed out her bristles before squeezing through the crack under the wood of the untouchable air. Meeping, she chased after the strange cat as he walked along the stone tiles and dirt ground, moving away from the den.

 

She cried out in frustration as an air current pushed her backwards. She gripped the ground beneath, walking against the current instead of flying after the cat. She ducked down under two pieces of wood that had fallen off of a big people burrow. She let out a grateful sigh as the wood shielded her from the wind. She padded forward, following the trial of the strange cat’s odd magic aura. It had the signature of his soul, but it had a sort of twisted darkness caging it in. It was alarming, but it was not as fierce and deadly as dark Holly’s twistedness had been. It was more like Holly’s own dark magic had entrapped the kitty’s soul and magic.

 

She kept to the walls, hiding under wood and dead vines whenever she could. She followed Felix’s scent until she found herself on the edge of a clearing. A large, sleek-furred black cat stood in front of a tangled-furred dog with long fangs, and in front of Felix. She nearly called out to the strange cat, before stopping herself, noting the predatory feeling that come off of the dog and bigger cat.

 

Felix was speaking his odd-cat speak. “You’ll have to wait for one of the… uh, tall prey to exit their den. There’s a barrier that will prevent you from entering... their territory.” He spoke his words like how the big people spoke theirs, by meowing everything he said rather than using his body language to convey parts of a message. He didn’t seem to pick up on the fact that he sent silent questions out with the way he would twitch his tail or fold his ears back. And, he stumbled over his meows a lot, whenever he talked about ‘moving trees’ or ‘touchable air’. The ‘little creature’ words.

 

The bigger black cat grunted, tilting its head as it replied to Felix. But Snowball couldn’t understand its words. She frowned, tilting her head. Felix and the dog seemed to understand the bigger cat just fine, so why couldn’t she? She chittered her teeth confusedly. Did that mean some animals spoke different types of animal-talk? Then, which creatures would be “food”, as Figaro called them?

 

The dog barked something out at the big cat. For a moment, the words rung hollow in her ears, but then she realized she could decipher what the dog was saying like with how she understood big people’s words. He was ordering the bigger cat to do it, or else.

 

_ ‘Or else what?’  _ She thought, tilting her head. And it? What was it?

 

“You’ll gain Hol- the wo- the, uh,  _ our  _ Alpha’s favor. She will let you do whatever you want, so long as you hunt down the tall prey,” Felix meowed. Snowball could tell by the way his tail curled that he didn’t mean what he was saying. That something about what he was saying scared him.

 

The bigger cat huffed, a noise that sounded similar to the big people’s laughs.

 

The dog growled, stepping forward threateningly, raising his tail. He snapped at the big cat for saying something- What had the big cat said? Snowball slowly picked apart the dog’s barks in her head, trying to figure out their meaning. The big cat had said something about how silly it was for a cat to be in a wolf’s pack. The dog was upset about that. Why?

 

Felix flinched as the two beasts argued, ears folding backwards. His demeanour screamed scared, but he spoke with relative calmness. “Holly- the Alpha could harm you if you don’t do this.”

 

Holly! Snowball perked up at the mention of her mother’s name. And Alpha? Was the strange cat talking about the Alpha she knew, or someone else?

 

The bigger cat halted, tilting its head as it thought for a moment. Then it let out a meow that was deeper and huskier than Felix’s or Figaro’s meows. The dog nodded in response, tail raising. The canine looked satisfied, proud even, at the big cat’s response. Felix both relaxed and tensed up at the same time. His posture slackened, but Snowball saw the horror sparking in his dark eyes.

 

The dog barked harshly to the strange cat, something about doing everything correctly this time. Felix flinched, dipping his head. The dog turned around and leaped onto a platform of broken wood, barking out commands at the two felines before leaving. The bigger cat grunted before stalking past Felix, towards where Snowball was hiding.

 

Snowball squeaked in panic as she scrambled further under a board of tree wood, trying to flatten herself against the ground as the bigger cat’s large paw stepped where she had stood moments ago. The tufts of dead grass crumpled under the big cat’s weight. It paused as Snowball’s squeak reached its ears. It tilted its head up, scenting the air with its big, whiskered nose. Snowball’s bristles raised in alarm as the cat swung its head down, mouth slightly opened as it tracked her scent, inching closer to her hiding spot.

 

Just as the cat’s eyes nearly found her, the strange cat dashed forward, slipping in front of Snowball’s hiding place. Felix mewed to the big cat, “Y-You should probably get going. We don’t know how long it might take for one of the big peo- er, tall prey to go outside, much less exit the barrier. We can’t afford to waste any time. The- The hunt has priority, right?”

 

The big cat narrowed its eyes at the smaller cat. Felix held his ground, raising his chin assertively. But, his curling tail have him away. At least, to Snowball it did. But the bigger cat just huffed, and padded away, slinking off into the shadows, towards the big people’s burrow.

 

Felix let out a sigh of relief and turned to face Snowball. His ears folded back in worry and concern. “Snowball! What are you doing out here?! It’s dangerous!”

 

The dandehog slipped from under the wood, fluffing out her bristles. She meeped, telling him she had followed him here.

 

Felix winced, his whiskers curling. “Well, it’s not safe for you to do that… The, uh… big creatures might attack and eat you.”

 

She blinked. Her bristles raised. She wasn’t afraid! She was smart, and knew to avoid any scary predators. She had only followed him because she wanted to know what he was doing. What was he doing, anyway? Snowball cocked her head, tiny ears pricking in interest as she waited for his response.

 

He glanced away, unwilling to meet her gaze. “I, uh… It’s- It’s not important what I was doing. Why don’t we get you home?”

 

Snowball frowned as she watched his tail curl and twist, his ears folded back and gaze averted guiltily. He looked like Holly when she got caught doing something bad, just in cat form.

 

She worked over what she could grasp of his and the other two creature’s conversation. The bigger cat was going to attack tall prey? What tall prey? The cat had headed in the direction of the big people’s burrow…  _ Her  _ big people’s burrow- the Great Mother’s burrow!

 

She squeaked in alarm. The big cat was going to hunt her big people! Her dandelion tufts fluffed out, and she rose a bit into the air. They needed to go warn them! They were in danger!

 

The strange cat jerked up. “No!” He yowled. “We can’t!”

 

Snowball’s ears flicked backwards. She frowned. Why couldn’t they?

 

Felix flinched, shrinking in on himself. “We- It’s safer if the panther attacks them. If he doesn’t then- then, then something worse could attack them!”

 

Snowball’s nose scrunched up. Why would something  _ else  _ attack her big people if the bigger cat didn’t?

 

Felix ducked his head. “It’s- It’s complicated… H-... Holly- she…” He huffed in frustration. “I  _ have  _ to, or she’ll do something worse.”

 

The dandehog tilted her head, nose twitching. Holly-  _ Death  _ Holly was planning for the big cat to attack the burrow? Her ears dropped sadly. How could her mother have gone so bad? When would the big people save her?

 

The strange cat dropped his head guiltily, averting his gaze. The expression reminded Snowball of when Felix had asked her to help him get into Light Lady’s den. He had said he was getting something that could help her mother. But, her mother remained entangled in the demon wheel-  _ cog _ ’s darkness, and the big people had been upset. She twitched her nose questioningly at Felix.

 

The cat flinched, again. “I- erm… It didn’t work as I thought it would. But, I promise, Snowball, I’ll… I’ll save your mother. One day.”

 

His tail curled.

 

Snowball huffed, cheeks puffed up and her bristles rising. He was lying! She accused him with a sharp “meep!”

 

Felix recoiled backwards like he had been stung by a scorpion's tail. His eyes went wide “I- Snow! I- It’s- … I just need to work a few things out and then,  _ and then,  _ I promise I’ll do everything in my power to save Holly! I promise!” He practically yowled, fur bristling. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes.

 

Snowball eyed him disbelievingly. She fluffed out her bristles, turning around and leaping upwards into a gently flowing breeze. She let it carry her as far as it went. She heard the meow of Felix telling her to wait, and the patter of his paws as he chased after her.

 

As the breeze died down, she hopped onto a large, dead vine. She walked along the vine until she reached her big people’s burrow. She could hear the strange cat scrambling after her, panting like a dog. She jumped off of the vine and floated onto a crooked tree wall that surrounded some big people’s burrows. Felix jumped up beside her, clawing into the wood as he pulled himself up. He opened his mouth, apologizing, while he leaned slightly forward.

 

Without warning, he seemed to smack into something- touchable air? But, there was no wooden square to indicate a place where the air could be touchable. The strange cat yelped, pulling backwards and teetering on the tree wall.

 

Strange cat, she chattered. “Meep!” What did he hit?

 

Felix shook his head. “Alice’s- errr, Grea- Light Lady’s barrier.”

 

Oh. Snowball could feel where the Light Lady’s magic ended, right in front of them. It made her bristles rise comfortingly. The magic was warm and nice, she liked how it felt. Why couldn’t the strange cat enter into Light Lady’s magic anymore? He had before. She tilted her head curiously at him.

 

He sighed, hanging his head. “I’m not exactly on their good side anymore… The barrier won’t allow anyone they don’t trust inside.”

 

Snowball raised her brow. Her gaze flickered to the bigger cat as it slinked just outside Light Lady’s magic-  _ barrier,  _ sticking to the shadows. She pointedly looked back at Felix.

 

He swallowed, averting his gaze. “Yeah, I know sending a panther after them doesn’t exactly help, but… It’s not like they’ll know.”

 

That doesn’t make it right! She scolded the strange cat. They were- her ears drooped, and her dandelion fur fell- They were… still mourning the death of Big Ears.

 

Felix choked on his words, forcing back a sob. The tears in his eyes threatened to start falling. He trembled lightly. “I… I know… I am too,” he whispered hoarsely.

 

Snowball stayed silent, thinking back to when Little Dark had brought in Big Ears last night. He had been bleeding really bad, and he had this scent- an awful, terrible scent Snowball never wanted to smell again. A death scent. She remembered wondering why the Healing Lady didn’t stop his bleeding like she did with the other big people when they were injured. Then, when they had decided to bury his body in the back territory of their burrow, she realized that Big Ears wasn’t coming back. He was gone, forever.

 

She and Felix sat together in sorrow-filled silence before Snow hesitantly piped up.

 

“Meep.” They buried him behind the burrow, she told him. She fluffed out her bristles, taking to the air and floating over the cat. She beckoned him to follow her, and he complied silently, trailing after her as she kept to the outskirts of Light Lady’s barrier. She shoved herself between two pieces of tree wall that had snapped off of the rest of the tree wall. Felix jumped on top of a muddy box that wobbled under his weight. He crouched low, eyes scanning the territory behind the big people’s burrow.

 

There were large claw marks from some creature that had appeared before Light Lady’s barrier had popped up, leaving most of the ground overturned and muddy. Weeds had over grown, covering the tree walls. But, near the moving door of the burrow, there was a mound of dirt where Big Ears had been buried.

 

A foot lightly kicked some dirt over the mound, the sleeve of a big person’s pelt wiping away little splatters of dark blood beside their thin-lipped mouth, their tiny, shiny fangs gleaming aside from the blood that had dried at the tips, leaving them a shade darker.

 

Tiny Fangs pushed a strand of head fur behind her ear, mumbling something under breath repeatedly. Snowball caught some of her words.

 

“That was so rude of me,” the… what had Felix called her?  _ Vampire _ ? The vampire mumbled. Her light-shaded eyes sparkled with some emotion- guilt? Shame? “But his blood was still fresh and warm.”

 

She jumped, startled, as the moving tree suddenly slammed open, and a big person ran out. Her eyes widened and she stepped backward fearfully. As the big person merely leaned down over the dirt mound, she seemed to relax a bit, but her eyes still flickered around rapidly, scared out of her mind.

 

Scribbler sniffled, tears trailing down his furry face as he rubbed his puffy, irritated eyes in a futile attempt to dry them. “Fin, Fin, Fin, I miss you…” He repeated weepingly. “Please…”

 

Tiny Fangs awkwardly stood behind him, shuffling her feet. Her eyes flickered to the open door as if expecting someone to come out after him. When no one did, she stiffly placed a hand on his shoulder. He flinched, slightly, but otherwise didn’t react, continue to cry over his friend’s grave.

 

“I miss him!” He wailed into the sky. “Why, why did he have t-to  _ go _ ?!?”

 

Tiny Fangs cleared her throat, unsure of what to say. “The world’s pretty cruel…”

 

“I know! I know that!” He hissed. “B-B-But why did it have to take  _ Finley?! _ ”

 

Her gaze flickered around helplessly. “It was his time?” She squeaked out uncertainly.

 

“No it wasn’t!” He snarled bitterly, ears flattening to his head and tail lashing out angrily. “He was young! He was hopeful! He was just trying to help a friend!” His eyes squeezed shut. “He was s-stubborn and didn’t tell anyone he was p-p-poisoned and it got him  _ killed!”  _ He wrapped his arms around himself, claws digging into his pelt.

 

“He died trying to save a friend. He died nobly,” Tiny Fangs tried.

 

“HE DIED!” Scribbler hissed. “D-Does it matter how? He’s d-dead, a-and there’s nothing I can do about it. He’s gone, he’s  _ gone _ , and that’s the end of it. There’s  _ nothing  _ else to do. It’s pointless! H-He was my friend!” His eyes snapped open, at first hazy and blurry, but then they locked onto where Snowball and the strange cat were. His fur stood up.

 

“I-I-It’s th-that cat,” he whispered, shaking. “Th-that cat  _ stole  _ Alice’s halo. F-Finley died getting her h-halo back. Th-th- _ that cat i-indirectly k-killed Finley.”  _ He stood up, glaring at Felix. The strange cat jerked up onto his paws, tail fluffed out in panic. He started to back away as Scribbler glared him down. Snowball let out a “meep”, confused.

 

“H-Hey! Calm down! I-It’s just a cat,” Tiny Fangs tried to persuade Scribbler, tightening her grip on his shoulder pulling him backwards. “It can’t do anything.”

 

“It’s one of  _ her  _ minions,” Scribbler hissed, tail lashing back and forth like Snowball had never seen it before. Scribbler never got angry. Not like  _ this.  _ “B-Bendy said it was over Fin’s dead body. It had its  _ claws  _ in his body. He said he took care of it, but it’s  _ back.  _ And look at it! It doesn’t have a scratch on it.  _ Finley  _ didn’t get that leisure. Why- Why does that damned  _ witch’s cat  _ get to live while  _ Finley  _ had to  _ die?” _

 

“It’s just a cat!” Tiny Fangs argued. She yelped as Scribbler yanked himself out of her grip. He glared at her and then redirected his anger back to the strange cat. Without warning, he launched himself forward. Felix yowled, jumping backwards and off of the box, trying to run away as Scribbler chased after him.

 

“Oh my Pumpkin King- sir! Oh rotten bones, what was your name?! S-Sammy? S-Sammy! SAMMY! STOP!” Tiny Fangs screamed at Scribbler. “SAMMY!”

 

Felix tripped over an odd broken object that the big people sometimes liked to drink out of. He cut himself on a shard, hissing and curling into himself as Scribbler reached out for him. Snowball squeezed out of her hiding place, meeping frantically, trying to command Scribbler to stop.

 

A large, dark blur slammed into Scribbler’s side, tossing him away from Felix. There was a loud snarl as the big cat that had been stalking the perimeters of the burrow swiped its claws down Scribbler’s face. He screeched, kicking out and grabbing the big cat-  _ panther _ ’s paw in an attempt to stop it from further hurting him. Felix yowled at the panther, telling it to stop, to which the panther roared angrily in response. Snowball meeped helplessly as the panther snapped his fangs, pulling out some of Scribbler’s whiskers as he jerked his head down, hot blood dripping down his face.

 

“SAMMY!” Tiny Fangs screeched again as the panther raised its large paw again, striking downwards swiftly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh. Is another death rising so soon just around the horizon? Who knows- let's see next Sunday ;) Until then, let's pray Sammy stays safe!
> 
> I hope that the differences in how Snowball and Felix view animal language and the world is clear. If you don't know what any of Snow's 'little creature' words mean, feel free to ask me ^^ 
> 
> And, I can't believe I've only JUST noticed this- but was no one gonna tell me I was spelling Wiston's name wrong this ENTIRE time?! Or were we just gonna let me make a fool of myself? XD I kept spelling it "Winston"- which, honestly, I don't know how that happened. I remember reading his name for the first time and KNOWING it was Wiston, so somewhere along the long I accidentally threw in an 'n'. How did I never notice? Well, whatever happened, I went back and edited his name in previous chapters :)
> 
> Thank you for reading, stay tuned for next chapter, 18: Why Do Cups Bleed?, good luck and good writing!


	18. Why Do Cups Bleed?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The original chapter was kinda short so I added a bonus scene! Also, there's references to Inky Extras Chapter 73 and Inky Mystery Chapter 104: Train Talk. Other than that, I hope you enjoy reading!

**Chapter Eighteen: Why Do Cups Bleed?**

 

Mugman’s head swiveled around as the sound of screaming reached his ears (or lack thereof). The others snapped out of their quiet conversations or mournings to glance around, startled. The screaming continued, calling out for somebody to stop- Sammy? Was that the name Mugs heard? He swiftly got to his feet, grabbing the back of the couch with his hand and leaping over it. He dashed to the back door of the house, careful where he put his feet on the slanted floor.

 

He immediately raised his finger, glowing a harsh blue, when he exited the house, eyes searching for the danger.

 

“SAMMY!” The vampire girl- Valentine, was it?- was screeching, eyes wide like an owl’s. Mugs’s eyes caught onto a large, sleek black cat standing atop Sammy, who was bleeding from scratches on his head. The panther’s paw was raised high, long, sharp claws extended as it brought them down, quick as a striking snake.

 

Mugs’s bullet went off, smoke rising lightly from his finger. The same moment the panther’s claws reached Sammy, Mugs’s bullet hit it square in the face, knocking it backwards. The claws dragged down Sammy’s body, not deep enough to kill him and spill his organs, but sharp enough to make the cat toon scream bloody murder. The panther landed with a thud onto the ground while Sammy’s back arched, tail spiked up as he screamed. Blood coated his face and ripped clothes.

 

The panther roared as it weakly stood up, rubbing a paw over the sizzling side of its face. It snarled at Mugman, lips curling as it leaped forward, pouncing towards Sammy again, vengeance in its eyes as it raised its claw to strike the killing blow. Mugs fired another bullet at the panther- not directly at it, it was too close to Sammy and he didn’t want to accidentally hit the cat toon. Still, the panther ducked away from the bullet as it whizzed past. Mugs leaped forward towards Sammy, protectively angling himself in front of the injured cat and warding the panther away with a glowing finger.

 

Boris, Bendy and Red, who had followed him out along with some of the others, ran over to Sammy, kneeling down beside him as he groaned, trembling as blood dripped into a puddle below him. Red snapped out some orders, something about Sammy going into shock, and needing to apply pressure to the wounds. Mugs noticed Valentine flee back into the house in the chaos. To get some bandages, Mugs hoped.

 

The panther curled its lips back, wincing as the charred side of its face clearly irritated the cat. It stalked back in forth in front of Mugs, waiting for a chance to leap at Mugs or the others. Mugs kept his finger firmly pointed at the panther, not giving it that chance.

 

Something tickled the side of his head, meeping, and he jumped a bit, startled, swiveling his head to stare at Snowball as the tiny dandehog cowered on his shoulder.

 

“Snow? What’s wrong?” He asked the puffball as her ears drooped.

 

Unfortunately, that minor distraction was all the panther needed to lunge at Mugman. Its arms wrapped around Mug’s shoulders, forcing Snowball to scatter onto the rim of Mugs’s head as she squeaked in alarm. It sunk its fangs into Mugs’s right shoulder. Mugs cried out, grabbing the panther by the neck and attempting to dislodge it, kneeing it in the stomach as well. The panther jerked backwards, raising its head and attempting to bite him again, blood dribbling down its jaws. Mugs stumbled backwards, unable to keep a steady footing. He fell onto his back, punching the panther in the burned side of its face.

 

The panther reared backwards, snarling and raising its claw to strike again. Mugs quickly lifted his finger, letting the glowing shot go. The blue bullet hit the panther directly on its shoulder blade and it staggered back, yowling. It slipped on its front paw, wailing out like a lost kitten missing its mother, desperate for help. It forced itself to stand again, shoulder sizzling. Mugs could see bone poking out. It stumbled backwards, away from Mugs as the cupman stood up, coldly watching the panther stagger away. It huffed helplessly, frantically gazing around, before miserably collapsing, going still.

 

Mugs winced and looked away. The panther had attacked- almost killed- Sammy. Why did he feel… guilty? Maybe it was just the way the panther’s tone had changed, going from feral to little kitten like it was a switch being flipped. It left Mugs… unsettled. But, he had seen and done far worse than killing a big cat, so it didn’t affect him too much.

 

He watched as the small black cat that kept popping everywhere slowly moved from its hiding place among the curling dead grass. Its wide eyes were locked on the panther’s body. How was that thing still here? And unwounded too, aside from a tiny scratch here and there? Hadn’t Bendy said he “took care of it”? Huh. Weird.

 

The cat’s gaze flickered to Mugs, something flashing in their depths that Mugs couldn’t quite pinpoint. Fear? Confliction? Then, it turned and, sparing one last glance at the panther, bolted. Mugs watched the cat flee before returning his attention to Snowball as the puffball quivered in terror on the rim of his head, pressing against his straw. He raised a hand, giving the dandehog two soft scratches.

 

“It’s okay, Snowball,” he reassured quietly. Snowball meeped in response, sadly curling up, bristles falling. Mugs wondered what the tiny creature was thinking about. Was she missing Holly? Feeling sad about Finley’s death?

 

Maybe she was missing Cuphead just like he was.

 

Don’t get Mugs wrong, he believed his brother was strong and capable, and could definitely handle himself. Even amongst all this chaos and mayhem, he would survive. But, he had been gone for so long, and, with his and Holly’s disagreements leading up to her cog possession… He was a bit worried Holly had gotten to him already. What she might do, he had a few ideas and he didn’t like any of them. But, he remained confident that his brother was alive. After all, Holly would be bragging about it if she had killed him…

 

He hoped Cup didn’t do anything crazy while he was out there. If he killed Holly in a rage-induced heat-of-the-moment situation, he could only imagine how the others would react… Boris and Alice would be the most upset out of everyone, if he had to guess. And the others, of course, would mourn the loss of their friend too. And Red already loathed Cuphead with every inch of her being, and Holly’s death would just add to that. As for Mugs… Well, he wasn’t sure what he’d feel. He liked Holly- she was a good girl, a bit nosy and did a lot of things that would get her in trouble, but she was good…

 

_ Was  _ good. She wasn’t anymore, and would she ever be again? Even if Alice and Hat did that one mind-thing they were supposed to do forever ago, would Holly just revert to her old self? Or was she too far gone? Was there even any point in saving her? She had made Mickey mute, burned Xedo, killed Finley, injured everyone else, Felix and Cup were both missing amongst her discord, hundreds of innocent toons were caught in the crossfire, perhaps some were even dead. Why save her when she had caused so much irreparable damage?

 

Of course, Mugs would save her if the option was ever present. But it didn't seem likely. At this point, he was ready to stop her, whatever it took. 

 

Even if that ended in her death.

 

\---------

 

_ November 8, Tuesday _

 

_ That cussing cat made me lose the halo before I had the chance to do anything useful with it. Now my attack plans on the casino have to be halted. And I had everything ready to go to. What. A. Shame. _

 

_ I'm choosing not to write about the incident of  _ _ me _ _ that cat losing my halo. It's not what I'm focused on right now, I could care less about some random reader knowing the full story, and I refuse to linger on… failures. _

 

_ While under normal circumstances, I'm happy to learn from my mistakes, now is not the time for mistakes. I have no time for them. I can't let anything go to waste. Every opportunity must not be dismissed. _

 

_ At least one of my plans went through perfectly. _

 

_ Poor Finley Fox. He didn't have to go that way, really, but Felix failed me so I had to punish him somehow. _

 

_ As mentioned in my earlier entries, both Crack-head and the fox had been stabbed by the perytons- winged deer with poison in their antlers that can cause a painful death from the inside out. The Crack-head had gotten full on stabbed, sliced down the arm. Any normal toon would have died no less than an hour later with how deep that wound was. But, he didn't. He persisted. Curious, right? _

 

_ He has an amazingly good immune system. _

 

_ Do you remember those blood cells, reader? Do you? Because I sure do. _

 

_ They were so, so fascinating to watch. They fought off the poison in less than a day. The infections from his open, dirty wounds- well, not so much. I had to clean those up a bit, unfortunately. Can't have him dying on me just yet! _

 

_ Anyway, back to his blood cells. The crescent moon ones fought off the poison while the cylinder ones protected the other weaker cells. The black cells that both Crack-head and Bendy had seemed indifferent to the poison. They weren't targeted by the poison, nor did they slow down or stop the peryton poison. Very few of those cells were harmed in the sample I took. _

 

_ Urrrgh, I really wish I hadn't forgotten to take a sample from Crack-head's brother when I dumped them in the water. Another mistake on my part. I'll have to send Felix out to grab me a sample. Hopefully, he won't put up much of an argument. _

 

_ Thank the stars that sunblazing cat has finally learned to quiet down and take orders properly. He even got me a new tiger pet! How cute! And her little cubs- awww, they were so adorable! I wonder what their blood cells look like? And what about their fire? Their mother has the ability to summon forth fire, but they seem unable to. It must be a trait that appears later on in their life. I'll have to keep an eye on the fire tiger family, just to see if anything interesting happens. Anything of use. _

 

_ I'm getting off track. Back to blood cells and poison. _

 

_ I have some spare peryton poison on me at all times now, along with my pepper spray and sleeping pills. I'll have to gather some more poison since I only have a big enough dose currently for one use. _

 

_ Ooooo! Just the idea of it makes me grin. Honestly, I really don't have to, but it's so much fun to stab Felix on the peryton's antlers. The way that helpless kitty hisses, unable to deny my power. It makes me feel like a goddess. And don't even get me started on the way the wolf obeys my every command, the way the peryton herd bend to my every beck and call, and how the griffin both fears me and admires me. Absolutely thrilling! Thank the cog, it's so much power. I love it! _

 

_ Ahh, and when I had that cat believing I was giving him an antidote when really it was just the poison I extracted from his own wounds, watered down so the effect would be less noticeable and more drawn-out… Absolutely wonderful… _

 

_ Finley's wound wasn't enough to kill him. But I had that cat put a little more poison in him every day, weakening him bit by bit. Oh, if Felix followed instructions, I would have let Finley live. But, no, the dumb cat had to disobey me. When I had all the others go out and face my creatures, I injected some more poison into Fin's bloodstream myself. This time, it wasn't watered down. This time, the effect wouldn't be drawn out. It would happen almost immediately. _

 

_ Bye, bye, foxy. So sad to see you go, but lil' kitty needed some discipline. _

 

_ That plan of making Felix into one of my pets is working out quite well. As for my other current plan? _

 

_ Hmm. That is to be decided. That seed grew faster than I thought it would, but it's still growing slower than I want it to. _

 

_ I went through all my memories of when I read the book about this odd parasitic plant in the library, before those darn Cup-brothers and Felix showed up. Not much information on it. No ways to improve growth speed, and I was hesitant to use runes on it in case it reacted negatively. It would be a hassle to find another seed since the plant was rare. _

 

_ I clicked my tongue. Tch. Too bad. But, I supposed there was no need to rush through my experiment. _

 

_ This way, I'd get to break the Crack-head a little bit. This way, I'd get to watch him  _ bleed.

 

_ I grinned, slipping off of my cog and heading over to a certain door in my twisted castle that I had already become quite familiar with. My wolf trotted loyally at my heels while my cog floated serenely behind me. _

 

_ I opened the door calmly, eyeing the griffin, his wing still burned. The griffin was curled around the Crack-head, resting his head on his talons, his tail flicking boredly. He jerked into attention as I entered, waiting for my command, going rigid with fear. _

 

_ I smiled, curling my finger in a gesture for him to come to me. "C'mere, Griffy," I ordered. "I wanna have a little fun with Crack-head." _

 

_ The griffin immediately slipped away from Crack-head, standing stiffly beside me, gaze flickering between the cog and my fingers. He hated when I made gestures with my fingers, which was all the more reason to do it. _

 

_ I approached the sleeping cupman at a leisurely pace, smile slowly growing wider. Standing in front of him, I examined his bruises and scratches. The crack on his face remained prominent, and probably throbbed painfully still without treatment. I had given him a dose of my sleeping pills earlier. Ah well, now was time for a wake up call. _

 

_ Grinning, I straightened my posture, gently touched a hand to my cog, raised a leg, and then kicked full force into the Crack-head's face, dead in the eye. _

 

_ This was going to be fun. _

 

**Bonus Scene: Finley’s Death**

__

Finley yelped as the others vanished from sight, blinking to adjust from the sudden flashes of light and runes. He jerked his head backwards, shaking his head to clear the spots in his vision, and hissing under his breath as his scarred ear blazed hotly with searing pain.

__

As he slowly opened his eyes and the spots faded from his view, he was met with Holly smirking, staring at him with dead, black eyes, sitting upon the cog. A shiver went down his spine before he could stop it. He gulped, straightening his posture and ignoring the light tremble of his arms and the stinging of his ear. He met her hollow gaze, narrowing his own eyes stubbornly.

__

“Hello, Finley,” she greeted, like this was a normal conversation.

__

“Where are the others?” Finley growled, tail lashing agitatedly.

__

Holly’s smirk widened. “Oh, that’s not important right now. You’ll find out in a moment, Fin.”

__

Finley snarled, curling his lip and clenching his fists. “What did you do to them?!”

__

Holly waved a dismissive hand, laughing dryly. “Temper, temper. Cool it, fox.” She smiled, black eyes gleaming with some sick, twisted emotion. “How is your ear?”

__

His hand instinctively flew up to cover it. His hand brushed against the edge of the soft flesh of his ear, making him bite his tongue to stop from making any noise.

__

“It’s fine. Why?” In truth, it was the opposite of fine. It stung like hell, and every little movement he made sent blistering pain through him. He felt sick, like his insides were curling around inside him, and his world would sway if he moved too quickly. Not to mention, his normally excellent hearing had been dampened. It was ringing constantly, everything on the left side of him sounding muffled when far away and too high-pitched when up close.

__

Holly took her sweet time answering, lifting her feet over the cog to hang casually off the side, and leaning back leisurely, hands pressing against the surface of the cog behind her.

__

“Just wanted to see how my little cat was doing on his assignment. Seems his homework checks out.” She scowled, a sudden contrast to her aloof and cheery demeanor. “A shame it doesn’t matter anymore, seeing as he failed his  _ other  _ task.”

__

“Cat?” His mind flickered to the small black cat that had been following them around, the one he had mentally dubbed ‘cat-dog’. His eyes widened. “It’s one of  _ yours?” _

__

She smirked smugly. “Oh, yes. He is. Wasn’t that obvious?”

__

He flashed his fangs at her, snarling, hair bristling. She didn’t deserve to look so smug, so proud. This wasn’t the Holly he knew.

__

She sighed, lifting her hands up and placing them in her lap, her posture changing into a slouch. She pouted. “Again, a shame this little game has to be cut short. My kitty failed me.”

__

“What  _ game?  _ This isn’t a game, Holly! People are being hurt! Someone could die!” He argued, glaring at the cog possessed girl. She only seem to brighten up at the idea. She straightened like an iron rod had suddenly replaced her spine.

__

“Ironic you should say that, Finley.” Her lips curled upwards into a twisted smile that made Finley’s stomach curl. “Did you know I was having Fe- my cat slowly poisoning you? Giving you a little dose of peryton poison every night?”

__

“Wha-?” His scarred ear flicked back, burning harsher. “It  _ was?”  _ And here he thought the cat-dog was a loyal companion who helped guide them through danger! He had trusted it! “B- how?!”

__

Holly raised an eyebrow. “With a syringe.”

__

He scowled at her.

__

She laughed genuinely, which made it all the more eerie. “Ah, let’s not drag this out.” She smirked with half-lidded eyes. Excitement glittered in the black abyss of her eyes. “I have to finish what my kitty started. After all, he failed and needs punishment. This will be proper motivation for him to listen to me.”

__

It took Finley a moment to register what she was saying before he jerked backwards as she reached out to snatch him with one hand while the other dug into her pocket and pulled out a syringe full of dark liquid. His gaze flickered all over the place, trying to find something that could help him, before he settled on his decision.

__

He lurched forward, attempting to attack Holly head-on. Runes lit up and a barrier formed around her, knocking him to the side. His hip slammed into the table holding the halo. He kicked out at Holly as she floated towards him on her cog. His foot slammed into the barrier and he growled, ear flicking. One of his arms went behind him, pressing into the table, while the other reached out to grab Holly’s wrist as she slowly- purposefully slow just to watch him panic- reached out at him with the syringe, needle shining. His fingers to slipped off her wrist as if she was made of slippery soap. He blinked in confusion, kicking out and trying to attack her with the arm not on the table.

__

It was futile. And he knew this. He grit his teeth as the needle stabbed his ear. Jerking away from it would make it uselessly more painful, so he remained still, glaring at Holly as she smiled merrily back at him. When the needle left his ear, he kicked out, right as runes flashed and-

__

“Bye, bye, Finley. Give Felix my regards,” Holly said softly.

__

-and he was staring at the ground as he smacked into it. Sharp sounds and high-pitched noises reached his good ear, roaring loudly in his already pounding ear drums. He swayed lightly as he pushed himself up, disoriented by the screeches and shrieks. He couched as dust entered his lungs, stinging his eyes and nose too. His ear wouldn’t stop twitching, like it was frantically trying to get the poison out of him.

__

His gaze went down to the glowing ring of light gripped tightly in his hand, the hand that he had slyly placed behind him on the table. There was no way to fend off Holly, but he’d be damned if he didn’t do one good thing. His gaze jerked upwards as he heard the muffled sound of gasping reach his good ear over the caterwauls around him. Alice.

__

He swiftly tossed the halo to the angel, his aim slightly off as dust clouded the air and his arm trembled. She leapt for it, snatching it in the air, a small smile on her face. She screamed a “Thank you!” at him, one that barely reached his ears.

__

A flash of light behind him alerted him to Holly appearing behind him. He turned his head around, collapsing forward, propping himself up on his knee. He smirked at her as she glowered down at him, expression positively full of wrath and rage. Her shriek of fury was sweet like candy to his ears.

__

“Bye, bye, Holly. Give the cog my regards,” he mimicked quietly under his shaky breath. She caught the words- somehow- and snarled at him.

__

“You sunblazing fool! I am more powerful than you will ever be! Don’t you  _ dare  _ disrespect my cog!” Her head snapped up, gaze locking onto Alice, the halo, and the black cat on a rock behind the angel.

__

_ ‘Felix,’  _ he thought. It was suddenly clear to him, as if the mist surrounding his vision had vanished and he was staring at the answer written on a wall. Of course, the black cat was Felix. Why else would she mention him? Why else would she get so angry at her own minion? Why else would the cat be so loyal to the group? Why else would it look so distraught and conflicted?

__

“Redeem yourself traitor!” Holly snapped at the cat. “Get it!” With a flash, she was gone again, leaving only heer instructions behind.

__

_ ‘No,’  _ Finley thought.  _ ‘Felix, don’t listen to her. Don’t do it.’ _

__

The cat leaped onto Alice’s shoulders, snatching up the halo and jumping away, darting into the wreckage of buildings around them.

__

_ ‘Felix,’  _ his mind whispered sorrowfully. His head dropped, gazing at the bland ground. For a moment, he just stayed there, tuning out the screams of toons and bleating of deer around him. All he could focus on was the way his ear stung. How his insides were burning, and his skin didn’t feel right, like there were worms squirming underneath it. How he felt like puking out his insides. His tongue felt thick in the back of his throat, heavy with saliva. He let out a bitter moan, gurgling slightly on his own saliva.

__

Then, a hand grabbed his shoulder. Words slowly faded into existence, too high-pitched, too close. “Finley! Finley! Are you okay?” He flinched, before slowly gazing up.

__

“A-Alice…” He coughed, wet strands of saliva and  _ blood  _ dripping down his muzzle. The angel girl gazed down at him with worry, dark-colored eyes wide. She opened her mouth to say something before yelping, ducking away from the talons of a giant eagle as they dug into the ground right in front of them. She pulled Finley away with her, but he couldn’t keep up with her fast motions. They were making him dizzy. He couldn’t see straight anymore. He pushed her away. He didn’t want to be deadweight.

__

“Finley!” Alice called after him as he fell to the ground without resistance. The loud thud he made upon impact indicated it should hurt a lot, but he couldn’t feel the pain. He could only focus on the burning fire inside him. His hand went up to his rapidly twitching ear, grabbing and tugging on it, as if that would help.

__

Alice’s voice disappeared, lost among the sound. Just another background noise.

__

His eyes squeezed shut. He couched more and more, the wetness of liquid filling his mouth and making it harder to breath.

__

_ ‘Make it stop,’  _ he pleaded with whatever higher deity there may be. Stardust, this…  _ hurt.  _ This was the worst pain he had ever felt in his entire life, and that was saying something considering ink attacks were pretty horrible. He hiccuped, something more thicker than normal sliding up his throat and out of his mouth. He didn’t open his eyes to find out what it was, the smell was acidic and bitter enough.

__

_ ‘Sammy, I’m sorry.’  _ Tears pricked at his eyes before flowing down his furry checks.  _ ‘I should have told you the truth when you asked if I was okay. I should have told you my ear didn't feel right. I should have told you I had the ink illness instead of hiding it from you. I’m sorry.’ _

__

He choked on his breath, spasming briefly at the sharp pain wiggling inside him.  _ ‘I’m sorry, Holly. I’m sorry we never got to save you…’ _

__

_ ‘Alice, I’m sorry I got your halo back only for it to be stolen again. I thought I could do one good thing before I go.’ _

__

_ ‘Bendy, Boris,’  _ he begged.  _ ‘Please find the ink machine. Save those with ink illness.’ _

__

How much time had passed? It felt like hours. Days. Days of endless, miserable pain. He was vaguely aware of something sharp pricking into his flesh.

__

He could feel his heartbeat stuttering. A darkness unlike the darkness of closed eyelids was entering his vision.  _ ‘Sammy, I’m sorry,’ _ he repeated.  _ ‘Please don’t cry for me too much. This is my fault. Please, Sammy, don’t do anything to harm yourself. Please. Please.’ _

__

There was a silence in his own thoughts, nothing but a black wall with burning pain on one side, and emptiness on the other.

__

_ ‘I don’t want to go.’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I think this is the first time I've written a death scene from the PoV of the killed. There's probably gonna be a lot more opportunities for me to do so in this AU, so this is good practice.
> 
> Also, on my Incorrect Quotes blog on Tumblr, there's a post about Finley and Holly, and Fin says he wants a mysterious death, so Holly tells him that it would essentially be a twisted scavenger hunt to find his body. I now realize that's sort of what I did here- they went on a scavenger hunt to find the halo, and Finley died at the end. Ironic.
> 
> Thank you for reading, stay tuned for Chapter 19: Fang, Bite and Sinker, good luck and good writing!


	19. Fang, Bite and Sinker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this chapter! Then again, I think pretty much any Felix PoV is fun to write, since he's sort of seeing everything from both sides... Anyway, there's some references to Snowball's Day Out here! Aside from that, I hope you enjoy reading!

**Chapter Nineteen: Fang, Bite and Sinker**

 

Felix watched the large snake snap at Bendy as the demon scowled and yelled at it, Mugs shooting it from behind with a glowing blue bullet. He crouched low between a split in the boards of a neighboring house. His ears flicked as he numbly watched Bendy, Mugs, Alice and Charming fight off the serpent.

 

After what happened yesterday with Sammy, Felix didn't know what to think. He had no idea if the cat toon was recovering well. He couldn't get past Alice's barrier to investigate. It had been radio silence from the toons. None of them so much as peaked outside. Until Felix lead the snake to attack the house, of course. The giant snake had been harder to communicate with than the panther, but with the promise of an easy snack, it followed Felix's instructions.

 

He watched blankly at the snake's swift defeat. It was blinded by Alice's light, distracted by Bendy and Charming, and shot down by Mugman. He retreated backwards, hiding further in the broken house as the four toons discussed something quickly among themselves before turning and heading back inside.

 

Felix exhaled lengthily, frowning. He wished he could know what was going on inside. Were they planning to take on Holly again? Resigning themselves to being cooped up in the house, mourning the death of a dear friend? Felix didn't know what he wanted anymore. He wanted them to stop Holly, sure. But he also wanted them to stay safe, to remain in the security of Alice's barrier.

 

He fidgeted on his paws, observing the house from a distance. They wouldn't come out. Snowball hadn't appeared in any window yet, squeaking for his attention to ask him questions that made him feel rightfully guilty. He should return back to Holly, see if she had any new assignment or task for him.

 

He had resolved himself to do just that when a familiar figure slipped out from the back of the house, slinking naturally into the shadows, using them to her advantage, hiding amongst the darkness like she always did.

 

Felix's ears pricked, watching Tiny Fangs glance around cautiously before proceeding to lurk further away from the house. He waited a moment, indecisive, before he trailed after the vampire, curiosity taking over him.

 

_ `Curiosity killed the cat,'  _ his mind whispered to him warily. He answered,  _ 'But satisfaction brought it back.' _

 

He padded after Tiny Fangs, keeping low to the ground and using the shadows to hide himself just like she was. He had a dark pelt, and therefore blended in better. Her pale skin was more noticeable. Not to mention, when the light caught on her small fangs, gleaming.

 

Gleaming, just like they had when she stood above Finley's grave, little droplets of blood being wiped on her sleeve.

 

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. She wasn't an ally of Holly, he was sure, but that didn't mean she was innocent.

 

For a while, she was just aimlessly and silently walking around. Then, she started mumbling to herself, just to fill the silence. Felix had a feeling she didn't get a lot of social interaction, even in her "Halloween Town".

 

"Surface food tastes awful," she hissed to herself, rolling her eyes. "No bitterness, no sourness… no  _ organs.  _ Ergh _. _ Disgusting."

 

She carefully jumped on top of a turned over couch, grabbing onto the railing of a platform connected to the side of a building. She swung herself up, pulling her body up and onto the crooked platform. She hopped on top of the thin railing, spreading her arms out for balance as it wobbled before effortlessly leaping onto the roof of a slanted building. She eyed the world around her, taking in the disaster that was Toon Town. There was a lot going on that Felix could see, but he could simplify it all into: Monsters. Monsters everywhere chasing, tormenting, and killing innocent civilians.

 

There was an uncertain frown on Tiny Fangs’s face, her brows lightly furrowed. “Halloweens aren’t usually this… dangerous.”

 

Felix flicked an ear, tilting head up to watch as she just gazed out at the destruction and terror, a thoughtful look on her face. She didn’t even flinch at the screams or jerk away as witches flew past on broom sticks. He fidgeted on his paws, glancing around warily. He had never felt safe in Toon Town since this… nightmare had begun, but now, not near the group or with Holly, he felt… decidedly more vulnerable.

 

Tiny Fangs tilted her head to the side, nostrils flaring slightly. She let out a soft hum before jumping off the building. Felix scrambled after her, climbing over piles of trash that mucked up his fur. The rancid stench made his nose scrunch up, but he couldn’t do much else to prevent the smell from invading his nostrils.

 

He dipped into a crack in the asphalt, trotting after Tiny Fangs as she leisurely strolled around, calmly observing the chaos. She was mumbling to herself again, but Felix couldn’t catch the words over the roaring and snarling and screaming. She veered suddenly into an alleyway at one point, forcing Felix to squeeze out of the crack in the road, hurriedly padding after her. He hid behind some boxes that had been ripped open, their contents scavenged, leaving only rotting trash behind. Felix gagged at the smell, biting his tongue to keep from making noise, although he doubted he would be heard over the shrieks.

 

The vampire girl stood above the motionless body of a toon, a skunk with white streaks down their side, and clothes that had been ripped, talon marks sharp and prominent. The blood had dried, becoming crusty and flaky with thicker strands shining from what little moonlight there was. The sharp scent of rotten eggs and putrid decaying flesh hit his nose, overpowering the scent of trash around him. He recoiled, hissing slightly. He wished it was just natural skunk scent, but no, it was the pungent, disgusting scent of death. He swallowed nervously, averting his eyes away from the dead skunk.

 

Tiny Fangs stood silently above the dead skunk toon for a while before sighing. “Poor girl.” She turned around, walking out of the alleyway. “Thought she was still fresh… It’s hard to tell with all this rot and trash.” She huffed irritatedly, glancing around with a scowl. “This isn’t…” She seemed to struggle to find a word before giving up with another vexed huff.

 

She gazed around searchingly, head tilted upwards slightly, the storm clouds above twisting and curling. Felix sat down behind her, waiting for her next move. She remained there for a long time, watching a werewolf maul down a toon, throwing it into a building. A manticore was arguing with a large, spiked armadillo, something about territory. The giant eagle soared above, taking down a harpy with a swipe of its large talon, owning the skies. In the distance, down the road, two human teens were fighting off a pack of hyenas. One kid had a shotgun, but he clearly didn’t know how to aim it.

 

A lump formed in Felix’s throat as he watched all this chaos happen. He should stop this. This wasn’t…. This couldn’t be-.... This wasn’t… This wasn’t….

 

_ ‘This isn’t right,’  _ Felix thought, breath shaking. He glanced at Tiny Fangs. Her thin lips were turned downwards in a frown at the corners, her eyes quietly masking the conflict she felt beneath. Her arms were loose at her sides, but her hands were clenched into firm fists.

 

The vampire suddenly jerked her head, sharply staring left. Her gaze flickered for a moment before she ran her tongue over her fangs. She walked towards whatever had caught her attention, snapping out of her… stupor? Felix padded after her on soft paws. She followed the broken road for a short moment before taking a detour into another alleyway, she glanced around, nose twitching and mouth slightly open. Then, she slipped into a crevice between two squashed buildings. Felix slipped in after her. Unlike the girl, he just had to walk in rather than squeeze in. She entered the house on the left from a giant hole left in the side, the wooden walls pulled away.

 

“Hey, hey…” She immediately stated, making Felix freeze fearfully. Was she talking to him? He flattened himself onto the dirty floor outside the hole and peered inside.

 

Tiny Fangs wasn’t facing him, thankfully. She was holding her hands up placatingly as a knife was aimed her way, held in the hands of a trembling girl who wore a torn-up sweater vest and glasses. They were thick, but one of the lens were cracked. She looked pretty frazzled, her hair wild and frizzy. Blood stained one of her checks, and she sat awkwardly on the floor, making Felix realized one of her legs were twisted.

 

“St-stay back! I-I’m not afraid to use this!” Her voice cracked as she rasped out the words.

 

“I’m not gonna hurt you, I promise,” Tiny Fangs said gently. “I just- look, I mean no harm, I just couldn’t help but-”

 

“You smelt my blood didn’t you! You monster!” The girl snapped frantically. “N-No one else would have even  _ thought  _ to check back here! I’m not- I’m not g-gonna be your p-prey, so just leave!”

 

Tiny Fangs flinched, guilty gaze going to the ground, her hands dropping. “I-I d-did smell your blood, but- um. You’re not my ‘prey’. I just wanted to see if you were okay.”

 

The girl faltered, the knife dropping slightly. She eyed the vampire warily. “Wh-why? Y-You’re a v-vampire, aren’t you? Don’t you wanna, like, suck my blood, or something?”

 

She rubbed her arm nervously. “Well, I mean, I- it’s complicated. It’s not like I wanna k-kill you or-” Her gaze flickered to the girl’s broken leg. “Hurt you. I just smelled your blood and th-thought you might want help.”

 

The girl narrowed her eyes. “ _ ‘It’s complicated’?  _ You didn’t answer my question. D-Don’t b-beat around the bush here. I have a knife!”

 

“I can see that,” Tiny Fangs mumbled quietly under her breath. Felix had to prick his ears to hear her. She cleared her throat and spoke up. “It  _ is  _ complicated, ma’am. I  _ do  _ want to drink your blood, but I don’t, like…  _ need  _ to? N-Not this instance at least.” The girl bristled and Tiny Fangs backtracked. “I mean! I don’t  _ have  _ to drink your blood, like, ever! It’s just, it’s like, erm… For example, maybe you see an attractive person, and think you want to date them. That doesn’t m-mean you  _ have  _ to date them, or will, but, the urge or thought is still there? Does that make sense?”

 

The girl deflated with a sigh. “I-I guess. I still don’t trust you, though.” She narrowed her eyes. “L-Look, I don’t n-need your help. So, if you wanna be all ‘friendly’ and ‘nice’-” She made air quotes around the two words- “why don’t you just leave? That’d make me feel safer, so that’s the friendly thing to do,  _ ma’am _ .”

 

Tiny Fangs winced, pursing her lips. “I-...” Her gaze, which remained on the floor, turned calculating. There was an eerie silence for a moment before she lifted her head and gave the girl a shy smile. “Sure. B-But, if I find any bandages, or something, I’ll come back, alright? I’ll just- I won’t even talk to you, if you want. I’ll just give them to you.”

 

“Do what you want. Just get out,” the girl growled. “And don’t even think of leading your monster friends back to me, vampire. I-It wouldn’t be the friendly thing to do.” She raised the knife back up, pointing it at Tiny Fangs, shaking slightly.

 

The vampire girl ducked her head before turning and leaving the building. Felix’s fur fluffed up as the vampire nearly stepped on him, narrowly avoiding him. He let out a breath of relief as Tiny Fangs walked away, not noticing him.

 

“Too jumpy,” she murmured under her breath. “She would never agree to let me drink her blood.” She sighed, glancing around again. “Tsk. Where to next? All there is are dead bodies. And rotting corpses just don’t have the same flavor as the blood of the alive.”

 

Felix’s hair raised, deeply unsettled. Was she trying to help the injured girl, or just use her? Felix couldn’t figure her out. She  _ seemed  _ sincere, but, then, she said things like  _ that.  _ Like it was some everyday statement. And she  _ had  _ drank blood from dead bodies, which meant she had drank Finley’s-

 

Felix let out a noise of distress just thinking about the dead fox. He steadied himself with a deep breath before taking after the vampire girl as she walked along the street, observing and looking around.

 

_ ‘For more victims? To see who’s ‘fresh’ enough for her to drink the blood of, and who’s corpse is just too rotten for her taste?’  _ Felix felt his lip curl in disgust and his tail lash back and forth. What the  _ cuss  _ was wrong with this girl?

 

“Valentine! Valentine!”

 

Felix nearly jumped out of his fur while Tiny Fangs whirled around. She blinked as three small kids, practically blurs, ran up in front of her, bouncing and giggling maniacally. Felix recognized them from awhile back, back when Black Hat had flown them around on that earth dragon-beast.

 

She smiled. “Lock, Shock, Barrel! How’s the scaring going?”

 

“Oooo! Absolutely terrifying! Have you ever seen this much chaos, Valen?” The girl in a witch’s hat giggled, putting a hand to her mouth… Well, to her mask’s mouth?

 

Tiny Fangs’s smile faltered, and she glanced away briefly. “No. It’s certainly… something.”

 

“Yeah, yeah!” The shortest boy who wore a white mask with a grinning face jumped up and down. “So much fear! But no candy- that’s a bit disappointing.” The boy pouted.

 

Tiny Fangs beamed at him, her smile genuine and bright. Felix committed it to memory. He needed to be able to recognize it to compare to her fake smiles. This one was more… loose, with wrinkles forming near her eyes, and her eyes shined with it. Her other smiles were timid and she hid her sharp teeth. Now, she bore them proud and strong, practically flaunting off her fangs.

 

“You got any Surface dwellers trapped around here?” The vampire asked.

 

The three kids frowned. The one in a demon mask shook his head. “No. We haven’t had the time. We’ve been helping Oogie-Boogie.”

 

“Yeah! Some dumb rodent came along and ate him all up,” the girl huffed, folding her arms.

 

“We had to put him all back together!” The short boy added.

 

Tiny Fangs blinked. “Oh? Well, that’s a shame.” She smiled, tilting her head. One of those fake smiles that didn’t reach her eyes, that didn’t show off her fangs. One meant to be cute and persuasive. “You have some free time now, don’t you?”

 

The boy in the demon’s mask tilted his head, quirking his lip and tapping the surface of his mask. “I suppose so.”

 

“Good! Then why don’t you go trap some civilians? I need some fresh blood and you need some fresh scares,” Tiny Fangs practically chirped, eyes bright and expression cheery.

 

The smallest boy bounced on the balls of his feet. “That sounds fun!”

 

The girl frowned. “But Oogie-Boogie might-”

 

“You three are Halloween Town’s finest trick-or-treaters, aren’t you?” The vampire girl coaxed sweetly. “Oogie-Boogie won’t mind. I’m sure he’s fine. I mean, after all, you’re scaring people aren’t you? That’s Halloween Town’s whole motto!” She smiled. Fake. “I never tattle on you or Boogie whenever you break the Town’s rules.”

 

The demon-masked boy nodded. “She’s right. Why don’t we go have some fun?” He grinned impishly. The boy immediately stated his eager agreement while the girl hesitantly agreed. Tiny Fangs grinned at them. The kids rushed off to go cause mischief while Tiny Fangs slowly trailed after them, eyes gazing around, looking for something. Felix had to duck out of view a few times while she scanned around. She finally seemed to find what she was looking for, trudging towards a stone house of which the inside had been burned, a trail of smoke leading out of the chimney. She pushed around the contents of a knocked over trash can with her foot can before gingerly picking up some white bandages that were muddied along the edges.

 

Felix's whiskers twitched in surprise. She really had an eye for fishing out bandages and medicine, huh? Almost suspiciously so. It could be her talent for all Felix knew- there were some weird and oddly specific ones out there, after all, but, then again… With her interest in the wounded, and her thirst for blood…

 

There was a connection Felix couldn't tie the strings between. A reasoning he hadn't found yet. It… irritated him, making him flex his claws, sinking them into the ground before sheathing them.

 

Tiny Fangs followed the trail of screams in the distance until she caught back up with the three kids. They had tied three toons in what appeared to be the thorny stems of roses, giggling and cackling proudly at their work and the terrified looks on the innocent toons’ faces.

 

“Ooooo! Lookie, lookie!” The shortest one said, grinning madly. “The vampire’s here! She’s gonna suck your blood!” That incited terrified screams from two of them while the other one furiously fiddled with the vines, trying to claw their way out.

 

Tiny Fangs flashed her fangs at them with a proud grin. The human toon kicked out at her, telling her to stay back. The vampire girl blinked sympathetically.

 

“He’s injured,” she murmured. Well, they all were. Could she not see the scratches and bruises? But, he was more injured than the others. A chunk had been taken out of the top of his arm, like some beast had tried to eat him.

 

“Ye-yeah? What’s it to you, vampire?” He spat, jerking backwards as she reached out to touch his arm. Tiny Fangs pulled back, lip quirking downwards thoughtfully.

 

“Let the others go. Leave him with me,” she told the trouble trio. Felix curled his claws into the dirt below him as he hid beneath a bush. What was her aim here?

 

The three kids followed her instructions eagerly, gleefully chasing after the other two as they bolted together. Their cheers and the two toons’ screams combined was an unsettling noise Felix wouldn’t be forgetting anytime soon. He watched the horrifying chase until they disappeared from his view, turning to watch Tiny Fangs and the human.

 

She kneeled down in front of him as he struggled with the rose vines.

 

“Hey. Don’t do that. You’re gonna cut yourself on the thorns,” Tiny Fangs said softly, a small smile on her face. It was utterly fake, disgustingly so. Felix didn't like the way she furrowed her brows in concern and tilted her head just so, conveying sympathy. Like she  _ really  _ had any. She was probably just using him for her own gains. He certainly had the fresh blood she wanted leaking out of his wound.

 

“Why do you care?!” The guy snapped at her, eyes full of fear. Felix could practically smell it. Actually, he could. His nose twitched curiously. Animals were known for smelling fear. There was a change in pheromones. So, it did make sense that he could pick up the smell of fear.

 

“You’re hurt. Why wouldn’t I care?” She lifted the hand holding the bandages. The man’s eyes caught on them, narrowing. “Look, I’ve even got bandages. I’ll wrap your arm up and set you free.”

 

He eyed her for a moment, scanning over her  _ fake  _ smile and calm posture. “What do you get out of this?”

 

Her smile lengthened at the tips. “Nothing.”

 

He rolled his eyes, scoffing. “Oh, don’t pull that stardust on me. I’d recognize that tone anywhere. You want something from me. What is it, sweetheart?” He tilted his head upwards lightly, smirking.

 

Tiny Fangs blinked, shying away from him, gaze going to the ground. “O-oh. Um. W-well, I guess I  _ do  _ want something…”

 

The guy leaned forward interestedly. “What? I know a lot of…  _ influential  _ men. I could make your wildest dreams come true, honey.”

 

The vampire girl seemed to stifle a laugh at that, to Felix’s surprise. “Erm- It’s nothing that’d require, uh, money or power or something like that.”

 

“Oh? Then what?”

 

“I, um, honestly just kinda wanted a little t-taste of your blood?” She stated with a nervous shrug, face lightly flushing.

 

The man frowned, slumping downwards. “Oh. That’s disappointing. I thought you would have been more interesting.”

 

She frowned at that. “Well, I don’t have many ambitions.” She reached forward, tugging the vines away from the toon, letting him go. She grabbed his arm and began wrapping it in bandages.

 

“But, really? There isn’t  _ anything  _ else you could think of? Maybe… a date?” His eyes twinkled, raising his eyebrows.

 

She scrunched up her nose. “In the middle of what could be described as an apocalypse?”

 

“Well, afterwards. I’m sure this will all settle down eventually. I know some people-”

 

“Is that your only trait? You know some people? Got anything more interesting?" She threw his own words back at him. He recoiled backwards, glaring at her.

 

“Hey! I’m very charming, I’ll have you know. Handsome, well-liked, daring, all that good stuff.” He frowned. “And you’re just a vampire. A monster. What would  _ you  _ know?”

 

“Well, I know that you’re flirting with me. The ‘monster’. Or, at least, you’re  _ trying  _ to,” Tiny Fangs snarked back, roughly jerking the bandages away, tearing a piece of them off and finishing wrapping his arm up. She glared at him. “Look, you’re all patched up now. So, how ‘bout I drink some of your blood and we both go our merry ways?”

 

He curled his lip at her. “Ha! Like I’d let you do that. Cuss off.”

 

“How charming,” Tiny Fangs drawled sarcastically. “But you don’t have much of a choice.” She gripped his arm as he tried to stand up, putting pressure on his wound. He cried out, stumbling.

 

“Hey! You blood-sucking witch!”

 

“Vampire, not a witch,” she huffed. She cupped his head with her hand, forcing him to glare into her eyes. She glared right back. She tapped a finger on his bandaged wound. “This wound you have? One of my friends probably did that. Would you like me to go get them to finish you off? How about you get those ‘people you know’ while I go get the people I know?” He paled, the snarl on his lips dropping.

 

“I’m not even going to hurt you. It’s just a bite. It’ll be like a needle at the doctor’s. Got it?”

 

He nodded slowly. Tiny Fangs relaxed a bit, smiling. “Good.” She tilted his face away while she leaned down to bite his neck.

 

Felix shifted his paws uncertainly. She had acted differently than he had expected. He expected her to put on a shy, helpful persona and trick him into letting her suck his blood. But, the man seemed to have pushed her buttons. Even still, she remained… reassuring? She was telling him it wasn’t going to hurt. If she really malicious, then she would have made it hurt a lot since he had irked her. So maybe she wasn’t as bad as he thought…. Still, he didn’t… trust her. What if she did have ulterior motives for helping Bendy and the others?

 

Tiny Fangs finished sucking the blood out of the man's neck, standing up and smiling down at him. “There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

 

He sneered at her, his hand going to his neck. He pulled it back, as if expecting to see a lot of blood. There was nothing but a teeny tiny droplet that he smeared. “Whatever, she-devil.” The man wobbly got to his feet and then took off.

 

Tiny Fangs immediately scowled the moment he left. “Annoying schmuck. Hate it when they get like that. It’s so much easier when they’re all scared.”

 

“Valentine, Valentine!” Tiny Fangs jumped slightly as the infamous trio returned. The demon-masked boy tugged on her hand. “Come quickly! We found two new toons!”

 

“Yeah, yeah! We think they might be-” The shortest, white-masked boy paused, gasping dramatically.

 

“LOVERS!” The three squealed together.

 

“Oh?” Tiny Fangs blinked. “They always are the fun ones to scare.” She smiled. A real one this time, her bloodied fangs gleaming. “But I’ll have to depart after I confirm it. I’ve got somewhere to be.”

 

“Awww, but, Valen!” The three cried.

 

“You’re always the best with scaring lovers!” The girl whined.

 

“Yeah, Valen, c’mon! It’ll be fun,” the short boy said, licking a lollipop. Where had that come from?

 

“I’m sure it will be. But, I’ve really got some stuff to do,” Tiny Fangs sighed, smiling softly.

 

The girl with the witch’s hat frowned. “Does it have anything to do with the demon and angel you’ve been telling everybody to leave alone?”

 

Felix’s ears pricked. She had said she’d tell her friends to leave the others alone. So she actually went through with it? Why?

 

Tiny Fangs nodded. “Yes,” she replied curtly. The three kids shared conspiring looks.

 

“Okay,” the demon-masked boy said after a moment. “But you’ll still come down to see if the two are really lovers?”

 

“Yeah, I will, don’t worry,” Tiny Fangs reassured them.

 

Felix frowned. How would she know if two toons were lovers?

 

The three kids squealed cheerfully. “C’mon, c’mon! Let’s go!” The kids tugged on her hand, to which she rolled her eyes and followed them down the cracked street. Felix took off after them, his paw pads starting to ache from all the walking.

 

The kids led Tiny Fangs to a spacious alleyway, hopping up on top of the ruins of some small store. They gestured into a crevice.

 

“So? How ‘bout it, ‘tine?” The boy with the demon mask asked.

 

Felix slinked behind a pile of bricks. It wasn’t that good of a hiding place, but he hoped the shadows would hide him. He peered into the crevice. His eyes widened.

 

_ ‘Betty! Bimbo!’  _ No! He had to get them out. He had to save them! The two were hugging each other tightly, and Bimbo’s leg had claw marks searing his thigh. Felix’s claws curled into the stone below him. He glanced at the four Halloween Townees.

 

Tiny Fangs was tilting her head thoughtfully. “...Yes. Definitely lovers, but there’s a strain between them. They’ve had a few spats, and the woman is especially irritated by some of the dog’s actions. Still, there’s an undying, persisting love despite that.”

 

The three monster kids giggled sadistically. They leaped down into the crevice to terrorize Betty and Bimbo while Felix frantically glanced around, searching for something to help the store owners. There wasn’t anything- He’d just have to leap down there and attack the kids himself.

 

Tiny Fangs turned around, eyes locking into Felix’s own. He froze, fur fluffing up. He should have picked a better hiding spot.

 

“You’re that cat…” Her voice was a tone of confusion. “I don’t… I don’t understand… why I can sense your relationships with those Surface-dwellers? You are but a cat… Right?” Her tone was inquisitive, waiting for a response from him. She studied his stiff posture, his unsheathed claws, his puffed up tail, his arched back. Getting no reaction, she continued, “What is up with you? You are their friend, right? You care for them like they were great friends to you, yet you stole the angel’s halo? You’re on their enemies’ side? You mourned the death of the fox, right? Or am I reading this wrong?”

 

Felix took a step back, staring numbly at her as she frowned, touching her fingers to her temple. His mouth was hanging open, although he had no response. They would all be meows anyway. He stumbled backwards, fur fluffing up. He guiltily tore his gaze away and turned away. He leaped off the ruined store, bolting away from the vampire’s puzzled gaze and the yells of Betty defending Bimbo from the giggling kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do me a favor and pretend that scene w/ the "flirting" dude was better than it actually was lmao. I had so many problems with it. First of all, idk how to write a character like that, much less them flirting. He wasn't even supposed to be flirting in the first place but then my brain decided to go ahead and do it anyway. Same thing with Valentine getting mad at the dude. She was supposed to stay kind and shy and all that, but then she started getting mad without My Control. I mean, I guess it actually makes sense seeing as she's been having a rough time, being thrust into this "new world"- she's never on the Surface long enough to talk to ppl unless it's to scare them soo… she just got a lil irritated.
> 
> The skunk was not a specific character, but the girl w/ the broken leg was, and the guy was supposed to be a certain character but now I've left it more ambiguous since he was becoming too OoC. If you can guess who the girl is and who the guy was originally supposed to be, uhh…. You get a cookie. Both are more well-known in Inky Extras than Inky Mystery.
> 
> Honestly, while I did love this chapter because it highlights the subtle things going on with Felix (well, they're either a) too subtle that they don't even exist, or b) actually really obvious but I think I'm being clever), and gives you some insight into Valentine's character, I think I flopped on some of the scenes. I'd appreciate any critiques or comments! Or, just tell me what you think about Valentine and/or Felix and how they acted this chapter. That'll help me see if I'm getting the points I want across and writing them correctly.
> 
> Thank you for reading, stay tuned for 20: Nothing But Sorrow, good luck and good writing!


	20. Nothing But Sorrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of shorter chapter than usual today! But, I'm quite happy with how it turned out considering most of this was written at 1 in the morning XD Nevertheless, hope you enjoy it! :)

**Chapter Twenty: Nothing But Sorrow**

 

Bendy coughed into his hand, watching the blots of black ink form on his white glove. Thick, ugly strands slipped down his face, blocking his vision. He curled his lips in disgust and discomfort as a sharp, hot pain stabbed at his lungs and heart. His throat was already beginning to swell and close up as the acidic ink pushed its way out.

 

Already, his brother was beside him, gently pressing pills against his lips. They slipped into Bendy’s mouth and were nearly pushed out again as disgusting ink rose like bile through his throat. He forced himself to swallow down the ink and pills, hissing as the acidic black liquid burned his aching throat. He muffled a scream of agony by putting his hand to his mouth. He barely felt Boris softly rubbing his back and almost didn’t register him pulling off his shirt and goggles so they didn’t get too stained with ink.

 

The Joy rune bracelet on his wrist shined faintly, providing him a slight bit of relief. His mind cleared, trying to focus more on Boris murmuring calmly beside him rather than the excruciating, searing pain taking ahold of his melting body as he weeped.

 

Immediately his mind thought  _ ‘Holly’, _ the Joy rune bracelet having been her idea. His thoughts raced at the glowing reminder of her, bitterly recalling Finley’s death. Xedo’s burns. Mickey’s muteness. Sammy recovering from the panther attack. Monsters running rampant, attacking and tormenting innocent toons. Her traitorous cat that stole Alice’s halo. That taunting smirk on her face that ticked Bendy off. The way she rode upon the cog like it was her throne.

 

All of these gruesome, sickening thoughts had attached themselves to the name “Holly” in Bendy’s mind, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to seperate the two. As the hot, boiling wrath uncoiled inside him much like the ink dripping off his body and being coughed out from inside, he jerked in Boris’s grasp, writhing. The sound of the pup yelping made Bendy force himself to stop the best he could, pushing past the pain of the ink attack and trying to dim down his anger towards Holly.

 

_ ‘No. Not Holly. The cog. The cog is at fault for all of this,’  _ he told his mind insistently. Holly was an innocent girl who had gotten caught amongst this chaos. She had been trying to help Bendy and those with the ink illness, only to find herself possessed by a cog of all things. She had fixed the map when it was outdated and broken. She had created Snowball and cared for the dandehog. She had looked into ways runes could help cure ink illness and found the Joy rune.

 

This. Wasn’t. Holly’s. Fault.

 

But, still, it was so much easier to aim his anger towards a face than an inanimate object.

 

He hissed as ink slid up his throat, forcing him to hack it out. He curled deeper into himself.

 

“It’ll be okay,” Boris was murmuring comfortingly beside Bendy, wiping away some ink from Bendy’s forehead. “You’ll be okay.”

 

Bendy whimpered. “I-It h-hurts-s…” Understatement of the year. It more than hurt, it felt like his entire body was trying to destroy itself, inside and out. No synonym for pain could describe how starfallen awful it was.

 

Boris held his brother closer to him, squeezing gently. “I-It’ll be over soon, Bendy. Don’t worry. Y-You’ll be okay.”

 

Boris’s words barely reached Bendy as he stifled a scream as his stomach seemed to twist in agony while thick strands of revolting ink dripped down his body.

 

_ ‘Why can’t this just be over!’  _ His mind roared.  _ ‘Why can’t this all just end! Why can’t I just  _ die _!’ _

 

The softly sobbing pup beside him reminded him why, so he endured through the torment, body wracking with jolts of sharp pain torturing him. His thoughts numbly switched between three topics: the excruciating pain, his brother beside him, and the catastrophe caused by Holly and the cog.

 

It was a long, agonizing moment before Bendy’s ink attack slowly started to settle down, lessening to thin strands slowly dripping down his face and arms. He took a deep, steadying breath, eyes shut. Boris hummed gently beside him, tiny droplets of tears running down his face just like the ink melting from Bendy's body. Bendy shifted himself to face Boris, raising an ink-stained hand to wipe away his brother’s tears.

 

“Hey,” Bendy said softly, voice weak and raspy. “I-I’m gonna be fine. Don’t cry.”

 

“I-I know,” Boris sniffled. “I know. It’s just…” The wolf pup’s ears drooped and he glanced away, eyes glazed and dewy.

 

“What?” Bendy prompted.

 

The pup sniffled again. “It’s just… H-Hol… Holly’s still out there. We- we haven’t stopped her, and she’s hurting toons… And, wha-what if she’s h-hurting Cup or Felix? Th-they’ve been missing for so long… I-I’m worried… S-Sammy’s hurt, M-Mr. Mickey’s hurt, Xedo’s hurt, w-we’re all hurt… And… And…” Boris took a shuddering breath, wiping away his tears as they formed. “F-F-Finley’s d-dead… I miss him... A-And I don’t… I don’t…” Boris sharply inhaled, trembling. “I don’t want t-to mi-miss you too…” The pup’s tears flowed openly now despite his attempts to rub the wet droplets away.

 

“Boris…” Bendy whispered. He wrapped his arms around his quaking brother, pulling him into a tight hug. “I’m not going anywhere, Boris. I promise. I’m your brother. I won’t ever leave you. You got that, bro?”

 

Boris slowly nodded. “Y-Yeah…” He glanced away, still rubbing his eyes.

 

“Hey.” Bendy frowned. “Hey. Where’s my happy widdle wolfie?”

 

Boris chuckled dryly. He mumbled, “Here I am…”

 

Bendy smiled. “I can’t hear you.”

 

“Here I am!” The wolf’s tail began wagging, thumping lightly against the wooden floor. He smiled brightly at his brother, fangs shining.

 

The demon beamed at his little brother. “There you are!”

 

Boris rolled his eyes, but he was panting happily. He laughed lightly. He slowly began to stand up, pulling Bendy up with him. “Let’s get you cleaned up, bro. Granny’s probably finished cooking downstairs by now.”

 

Bendy nodded quietly, letting his brother wipe away the leftover ink from his attack. He put on new, fresh clothes while his brother scrubbed away some of the ink stains on the floor.

 

Bendy stared at his reflection in the mirror. Battered, bruised, scarred, exhausted and sleep-deprived- yeah, that was him. His eyes looked hollow and empty, dark bags under them. His mouth was drawn into a thin line, making him appear stern and stoic, unapproachable. A mix of numbness and rage that contradicted each other yet complimented each other quite nicely on his face. It definitely reflected how he felt, if you added a dash of sorrow and a handful of regret.

 

“Bendy, you coming?” Boris called.

 

Bendy jerked away from his reflection, blinking back into reality. He tilted his head towards his brother as the wolf pup stared curiously at him from beside the half-opened door.

 

“Yeah, yeah, coming bro,” Bendy responded. He turned and followed his brother out of their room. The two of them made their way down the somewhat slanted stairs, ignoring the flickering, broken lights and the broken shards of a potted plant that had yet to be cleaned up. They headed to the dining room.

 

“Boys!” Granny Gopher cried, waving at them. “Just in time. I’ve just finished cookin’ everything up.”

 

Boris’s tail wagged as he smiled. “It smells good, Granny.”

 

The gopher smiled warmly, skin around her eyes crinkling. “Pssh, course it does! Now, now, sit down, sit down. We all need a good, warm meal in our stomachs.” She gestured to the table, already set up with plates and utensils. Alice and Snow White were chatting quietly with each other as they helped Granny by bringing out the food. Mugs and Cala were already seated at the table, sat beside each other as Cala asked a few questions about something or other, to which Mugs politely answered. One of the injured toons they had picked up at the start of this whole catastrophe- the one who always seemed to have a knife on him- sat at the corner of the table, fiddling nervously with a fork. While Bendy and Boris sat down, Mickey, Charming and Sneezy slipped in, trash from around the house in their hands. Things kept breaking everywhere in the house, and since the house was now at an angle, everything had been pressed to the sides of the walls, tipped over and out of place.

 

As Mickey, Charming and Sneezy stuffed the trash all in an over-sized trash bag, Granny called out to them, “You better wash those hands before you sit down at my table, young men!”

 

Mickey smiled and nodded his head, wincing slightly at his movements. Charming grinned as well, ever-cheery and merry. Sneezy nervously smiled too, before sniffling his large nose and rubbing it with his nose. The three left to go wash their hands.

 

Red and Dr. Oddswell were the next to enter the room, Red sighing as she grabbed some of the plates of food and delicately balanced them on her arms before heading off to feed the injured toons too exhausted to move much. Oddswell seated himself at the head of the table. The strange lizard's features were as stony as ever, but Bendy could tell by the way his tongue zipped in and out and his scaly tail tip flicked that he was troubled.

 

Wiston and his brother soon followed, Fireball perched upon Wiston's shoulder as the young fox stuck closely to Xedo, clinging to his unburned arm. Snowball meeped softly from atop Fireball's head, pressing her head into the deerhawk's ruffled fur. The two seated themselves silently at the table, Wiston patting Fireball’s neck and ruffling his feathers.

 

Granny, Snow White and Alice finished setting up right as Mickey, Charming and Sneezy returned, seating themselves at the table quietly.

 

Granny frowned. “Is Valentine eating with the injured again?”

 

For a moment, Bendy blanked on who she was talking about before he remembered the vampire girl that had shyly hung around the house. She had eaten with the injured or by herself previous nights.

 

Bendy shrugged. “Guess so.”

 

Granny sighed, shaking her head. “That girl… She should know by now that she’s always welcome at Granny’s table.” She smiled at the toons seated around the table, a hidden sadness glinting in her eyes. “Now, I know we’ve been getting tighter on food, but, after all that’s happened I thought we deserved a big, warm meal to lighten our spirits. In Finley’s honor.”

 

They all dipped their head down dolefully. Some even repeated, “In Finley’s honor…”

 

With only a few more words, they all began to dig into the food Granny had graciously cooked them. It wasn’t anything big, as, like Granny had said, they were getting tighter on food, but, stars, was Granny’s cooking good. A full belly definitely made Bendy feel better, if not happier. Still, though, there was an undeniable awkward air of melancholy. Bendy couldn’t help but think,  _ ‘Finley isn’t here to enjoy this meal’  _ and  _ ‘there are toons out there who don’t have this luxury like we do’. _

 

And, perhaps the most haunting thought,  _ ‘What if someone else out there was starving?’ _

 

He knew what it was like to starve nearly to death. He knew what it was like to watch someone you loved go hungry far longer than anyone should as well. He never wanted to experience either of those things again, but he just might. He just might, and that was a horrifying thought. And it wouldn’t just be him and Boris going hungry this time- it would be Granny, and Alice, and Sammy, and Mugs, and  _ everyone  _ in the house. The injured, the tired, the innocent. Everyone. And those outside too, who had just been living their normal, peaceful lives until Holly and the cog and this awful darkness that went on like an eternal night had rudely interrupted.

 

At the very least, he was glad that Alice’s barrier had contained this mayhem to Toon Town so it couldn't reach anywhere else. Heaven forbid it reach Sillyvision and  _ Sasha _ . Or even Warnerburg and the Warners.

 

Alice’s barrier.

 

He glanced at the angel as she quietly picked at her chicken with her fork, looking paler than normal, which was saying something since everyone was still pretty shaken up from Finley’s unfortunate death. She was more unkempt than usual, which, again, was saying something as no one really had time to keep themselves clean and pristine anymore. Her ruffled black hair hung loosely around her face, half-way pushed behind her ear. Her beautiful, dark eyes were unfocused and glassy, and her breaths were short and orderly, yet weak, like she was trying to stop her ragged breathing from showing. Holding up two barriers must definitely have been putting a strain on her… And like cuss was Bendy just about to allow her to overexert herself to death. He would have to talk to her about that soon. But, for now, he’d just bask in the silence and eat a good, home-cooked meal while he could.

 

To Bendy’s surprise, he wasn’t eating that much. It took him a moment of reflection to realize it was old, old instincts coming back. Eating as little food as needed to save and store leftovers in fear he might not be able to eat again soon. Cuss. Just the thought of going back to those terrible days in alleys of his childhood made Bendy sick to his stomach.

 

He stopped eating after that reminder.

 

After dinner was over, the leftovers were stored away, and a few people tried to make some small talk. Charming talked about how he’d noticed an increase of creatures circling the house, and Mugs suggested they set up a watch system just in case anything happened. Bendy doubted he’d be able to sleep, so he immediately volunteered. He would be taking the first shift with Mugs before they would be replaced by Charming and Mickey, and after them Xedo and the knife guy.

 

Bendy and Mugs stood silently across from each other, staring out the windows of the room connected to the entrance of the house. Their eyes blankly scanned the rolling and twisting darkness that moved with every monster roaming outside. The screams of victims and laughter of monsters seemed to have died down, turning into a somber silence while everyone feared for their lives. Bendy narrowed his eyes thinking about what some toons might be doing. Hiding from harm in the remains of a burned down building? Defending their friends and family, fighting tooth and nail? Darting amongst the shadows, fleeing from creatures around every turn? Wondering how this chaos started and when the misery would end?

 

“What do you think Cup and Felix are doing?” Mugs asked out of the blue, staring thoughtfully out the window, gaze conflicted and tone flat.

 

Bendy blinked, tilting his head at the cupman. The reminder that his idol and friend had gone missing and had yet to return burned another hole of emotions into Bendy. Cuss, where  _ had  _ they gone? Were they okay? Last Bendy had seen, Cuphead was being carried off by some griffin, and the others said Felix was last seen fighting Holly and a fire tiger amongst raging flames. Neither of those situations had positive outcomes in his mind. Could they have been… killed?

 

But, no, no, surely,  _ surely  _ Holly would have been bragging about it? Surely they would have found their dead bodies by now? Unless, of course, the griffin had eaten Cup’s corpse, and the flames had consumed Felix’s body, but…

 

No. That was too grim of a thought to follow. Bendy refused to let his imagination wander that far. The most logical scenario is that Cup and Felix, both being top-notch fighters, would have escaped their foes and were now lost in the destruction of Toon Town. That wasn’t too far-fetched to think. It had taken Bendy and the others nearly forever to find Oddswell’s house.

 

Mugs was still patiently waiting for a response, studying Bendy contemplatively. The young demon cleared his throat.

 

“They’re out there… Somewhere.” He hesitated. “We don’t have any proof against it.”

 

“Nor do we have any for it,” Mugs pointed out. He fidgeted with his scarf, eyes dropping to the floor. “My brother’s strong… I have faith in him, and Mr. Felix. But I can’t help but worry.”

 

Bendy nodded. “Yeah, I get what you mean.” He glanced upwards out of the window, wishing he could see even a glimmer of the moon past the dark, gray storm clouds that were ever present. At least there didn’t seem to be any lightning or rain tonight. “If it were Boris out there… I’d freak.”

 

Mugs glanced out the window. There was a pregnant pause before he spoke again. “I can only imagine what it’s like for the innocent people out there.”

 

Bendy closed his eyes briefly, taking a deep breath. “Yeah.” He opened his eyes, mesmerised by the way the shadows twisted with the movement of a tiny creature skittering along a broken wood plank. “Yeah.”

 

Mugs glanced back at him. “We need to save as many as we can.”

 

“And save Felix and Cup,” Bendy added quietly. Mugs nodded contentedly, turning his gaze back out the window.

 

“No matter what,” Mugman murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.

 

For a moment, Bendy stayed silent. Then, he agreed, softly, “No matter what.”

 

\----------

 

The dark, curling, smoky clouds blocked what little light there was from daybreak. Dawn was no brighter than night. Only the slight rays of sunlight peeking through the cracks of the gray sheet of clouds above them signified a new day had started. There was no pleasant heat of the sun to soothe someone’s aching muscles as they stretched or to warm their chilled skin after a long, restless night.

 

Felix’s pelt felt colder than ever, his ear tips and nose numb. His muscles ached and yelled at him to stop and just rest, but he couldn't. He had to keep moving, or his thoughts would consume him.

 

It didn’t exactly help that currently he was lying with his cold paws curled under him as he watched a dire wolf with a scar on his shoulder drag the dead body of an innocent skunk girl across the destroyed lawn of a house full of toons he had recently killed the friend of.

 

Yeah, not exactly a situation he’d ever thought he’d find himself in.

 

Yet here he was,  _ willingly  _ letting the canine place a rotting corpse of a stranger in front of his friends’ home. In fact, it was even  _ his idea.  _

 

_ His idea. _

 

Felix the Cat. Adventurer and author. Him. His idea. His idea to do something so morally and ethically wrong, fully knowing it was going to emotionally scar and perhaps even traumatize the people he once called friends, including two young kids.

 

And why, pray tell, was he doing this?

 

Because he needed to send a message. A cruel, twisted message, but a message. A warning for them to get out of the house, to come after Holly, or she’d box them in and kill them off one by one like pigs in a slaughterhouse.

 

Felix forced himself to watch the way the body moved over the rocky ground as the dire wolf hauled it along. The way the huskless body dragged like dead weight. The way the empty, dead eyes stared unblinkingly into nothingness. The way the dried blood flaked off its-  _ her  _ body. This was his punishment. He burned the imagery, the memory of the skunk toon’s dead body into his mind, reminding himself to bring it up whenever he did something like this again.

 

His gaze flickered to the windows of the house, checking to make sure there wasn’t any movement at the front of the house. No. None. The two awake were still at the back of the house. Good.

 

The wolf yipped cheerily as he got the body in clear view of the house, unconcealed by the shadows, laying limply in all its glory. Felix winced. Maybe he should at least clean up the body, get the twigs and leaves out of her fur, straighten her clothes, make her more presentable… But, the wolf was already padding proudly over to Felix, tail standing straight up, his strut prideful and smug.

 

He nudged the cat playfully, tail wagging happily as his tongue lolled out of his mouth. Felix numbly turned around and slipped into the shadows of an alleyway, tail dragging behind him. The wolf whined forlornly, but trotted after Felix without further complaint. Eventually, the wolf took the lead, leading Felix to a rune etched into the wall of someone’s home. Well, it wasn’t their home anymore. Just an empty, destroyed building with a Switch rune stabbed into it.

 

He pressed his paw against the rune, not reacting at the flash and the feel of dark magic wiggling under his skin. He was used to it.

 

He padded after the dire wolf as the canine walked confidently through Holly’s castle, the hallways already memorized and familiar to him. They were beginning to be familiar to Felix too.

 

As they passed a large, room that had no floor, his eyes flickered to the fire tiger as she laid contentedly on her side, tail tip twitching ever so slightly. There was a warm, motherly glow in her eyes as she watched her four cubs tussle with each other, one of them bumping into her belly. Her eyes caught on Felix as he walked passed and she dipped her head gratefully, conveying her thanks to him. He ducked his head and walked faster after the dire wolf, surprised at the warmth and joy that exploded in his chest. He pushed it away. He didn’t deserve it.

 

The wolf barked a greeting to some creature and Felix lifted his head to look at who it was. That panther that Mugman had shot, the one that had critically wounded Sammy. Bandages were wrapped around its face, neck, shoulder and leg, and it was limping badly, but it was alive. Felix had begged Holly, for some reason, to save it. He had been the cause of what would have been its death, and he couldn’t handle it- it reminded him painfully of Finley. She had found his begging amusing and had complied, summoning the panther to her. It had been on its last breath, but with some runes, Holly managed to stabilize the feline. The bandages were an added accessory.

 

The panther grunted begrudgingly at Felix as it passed him and the wolf, padding briskly away. Felix flicked his ears backwards and watched him go, feeling confusion rise inside him. It didn’t seem to hate him, despite Felix nearly leading him to his death?

 

Felix, again, ignored the thought and rushed to walk stride by stride with the dire wolf. He didn’t understand why… his emotions were so conflicting?

 

He passed a broken-horned unicorn, the one that had attacked Bendy, as it trotted aimlessly through the halls of Holly’s castle. Rats scrambled away from Felix and the wolf, making his whiskers twitch with interest. A jackalope with thin-rimmed glasses was messing around with some random gadgets while a snake coiled around a support beam. Felix could hear the perytons neighing joyously and cantering about in their “cave” in the distance. For some reason he couldn’t quite explain, he felt his mood shift. He felt… lighter? Like his head was full of cotton, and a weight in his chest had been taken away from him, if only temporarily. Not exactly happier, but… lighter. Just, lighter.

 

He and the dire wolf finally reached where Holly was. She was sitting leisurely on her cog, arms crossed and staring thoughtfully at the ceiling. Felix eyed the cog as it glowed lightly. That same dark energy, that evil magic seeped off of it and sunk itself into Felix’s pores, making his whiskers curl and his fur rise. Unnatural, not right, yet, Felix was used to the feeling due to how long he had been around it and Holly. His eyes slid right over it and went to Holly immediately.

 

Unfortunately, he didn’t get much of a look before something smacked him square in the face. He staggered backwards, falling to the ground as a bag thumped down beside him. He blinked at his bag. Huh. It had taken longer than he thought to get back to him.

 

Suddenly, Holly let out an infuriated screech. “That  _ SUNBLAZING BAG _ ! Again?! Griffy! I thought I told you to  _ watch  _ that  _ thing!” _

 

Said griffin winced as he scrambled after the bag, snatching it up in his talons. Felix’s whiskers twitched in amusement.

 

“That  _ thing  _ is just gonna keep trying to get to me, no matter what,” Felix remarked, raising an eyebrow as he turned to face Holly as the girl steamed. She snarled at him, angrily glaring at him. She raised her hand and snapped her fingers, and the magic bag disappeared without so much as a  _ poof _ .

 

“There. Now it’s on Mount Everest.”

 

Felix’s whiskers twitched as he held back an amused purr. “That’s not going to stop it for very long.”  _ ‘Trust me. I know from experience.’ _

 

Holly narrowed her black eyes at him, scowling at him.

 

His smile dropped and he dipped his head down respectfully, clearing his throat. “Do you have anything you want me to do?”

 

Holly blinked, anger vanishing. She smiled and leaned backwards. “Oh! As a matter of fact, there is, my little kitty.”

 

Felix’s ears twitch irritatedly at the nickname. He tilted his head and inquired, “What?”

  
She smirked maliciously at him, dark, abyssful eyes gleaming excitedly with cruel amusement. “We’re going to need something first to make this work. We need our wonderful little _traitorous rat.”_ Her eyes narrowed dangerously but her bittersweet smile remained. “Snowball.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone remember that one scene between Bendy and Mugs after Cup ran off? No? Just me? Well, we need more Bendy and Mugs friendship moments. The two have a surprisingly good dynamic and I demand more of it!
> 
> (Cough, a little part of this chapter was meant to mirror that moment from Chapter 99: The Arctic Wind Breaks, and there’s one specific mention about the moon that I quite like as it shows the difference between the two worlds rn as one’s clear and visible and the other’s covered and if any of you have read Warriors you know what that means and yeah I’m just gonna shut up now)
> 
> Other than that the only thing I gotta say is that I was a bit tempted to rename this chapter "A Bittersweet Meal" but decided not to change it. Thank you for reading, stay tuned for chapter 21: Copy, Paste and Cut, good luck and good writing! :)


	21. Copy, Paste, and Cut

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to another chapter! This chapter, Holly abuses cats, like, a lot. If you've got a kitty, or a pet, please show them love! Don't be like Holly! Aside from cat abuse, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Chapter Twenty-One: Copy, Paste and Cut**

 

Felix laid his head on his paws, ears twitching as he watched the tiny puffball in front of him squeak eagerly at him.

 

_ Fireball can fly really, really fast! He’s got big wings and whenever he flaps them I have to dig my claws into the ground to keep from getting knocked away!  _ She chattered restlessly to him. Being cooped up inside in a depressed air had put a damper on her, but Felix had coaxed her normal excitement and curiosity out of her by inquiring about what she liked to do. She bounced from topic to topic.

 

_ And I always loved playing chase with mother!  _ Her spirits dampened for a second, her ears falling, before she continued on merrily.  _ Great Mother has the best food too, although I still like bugs better. _

 

Felix purred, tail tip curling, as the dandehog’s eyes caught on a tiny beetle crawling along the moldy fence. Her bristles fluffed up slightly and she crouched down, wiggling a bit before she leaped at the little bug. Her teeny paws missed it by an inch as the beetle scattered away. Felix leaned over and smacked the beetle to the ground with his paw before it could scamper in-between the wooden planks. Snowball meeped happily, pouncing on the flipped over bug. She messily munched on it, rubbing her face against the bug’s sticky blood a little.

 

Felix’s tail swayed against the tufts of grass, his gaze flickering to the house and seeing if anyone was at the back of the house. No one seemed to be paying attention. He let out a sigh of relief. He had brought Snowball to the backyard so she wouldn’t see the dead body out front. The others must have noticed it by now. His ears pricked and he could hear the worried murmuring on the other side of the house. He turned his attention back to the dandehog eating a beetle in front of him, forcing a smile.

 

She had finished her meal, licking her paws and swiping them over her ears like a cat cleaning itself. He slowly rose and stretched out his limbs, mind flashing back to his and Holly’s conversation. His breath caught for a moment before he pushed away what her original idea had been. They had compromised. No way was Felix throwing cute, little Snowball into the metaphorical lion’s den. Or literal lion’s den- who knows what Holly had planned to do to Snowball after she completed her “little experiment”.

 

“Hey,” he said, catching Snow’s attention. She looked up at him curiously with round, owly eyes. “I gotta go. See ya later, Snowball.”

 

She blinked.  _ Already? I know the big people don’t like you but…  _ Felix cut her off as he leaned forward. He hesitated before giving Snowball a lick on the head. Cats did this all the time to each other, to their owners, to their kittens, but its not exactly like Felix had been a domestic kitty for very long. There was an air of awkwardness to the action, especially knowing the intentions behind the action.

 

Her bristles felt weird on his tongue. Soft, yet prickly. And the beetle’s blood added an odd taste to the whole thing. Her looser bristles stuck to his tongue. He pulled backwards, letting the stray dandelion tufts stay on his tongue, even though it felt bizarre. Snowball blinked, confused, staring up at him questioningly.

 

He stepped backwards, turning around and mumbling out a “Bye”. His pelt bristled somewhat as he ducked into the shadows of an alleyway, padding away from the house and Snowball. His paws instinctively lead him to a Switch rune, taking him straight to the castle and Holly.

 

The wolf was loyally at her side, seated on his rump with his fluffy tail lying quietly on the cold, stone ground. The cog floated eerily behind Holly like it was her shadow. The possessed girl’s black eyes lit up at the sight of him.

 

“Felix! Did you get what I asked for?” She asked.

 

Felix pressed his tongue against his fangs, pulling backwards so the dandelion bristles were pushed to the front of his mouth. He spat the bristles’ out onto the ground, glad to get the odd fur out of his mouth.

 

Holly’s lips curled in disgust, eyeing the bristles with clear distaste. “Ew.”

 

Felix’s ear twitched vexedly. How else was he supposed to get the bristles? Pluck them off with his hands? Oh wait, he didn’t have any.

 

Still, the girl leaned down and swiped the bristles up with her fingers. She frowned. “It would have been much more enjoyable with a live specimen.”

 

Felix’s stomach twisted and curled in loathing. A  _ live specimen?  _ It was Snowball! The little puffball Holly used to love so dearly. Practically her  _ daughter! Snowball thought of her as her mother!  _ She couldn’t just call Snowball a “live specimen”.

 

Felix glared into Holly’s back as she nonchalantly walked away, over to an open space of stone flooring. The wolf let out a warning growl, glowering at Felix. The cat looked away as the wolf curled his lips back, revealing his sharp fangs. Felix couldn’t stop his claws from unsheathing, or his fur from raising angrily, nor the way his tail lashed, though.

 

_ Settle down, cat, or I will bite you again,  _ the dire wolf warned. Felix remained silent, steaming over Holly’s neglect towards sweet, innocent Snowball. The wolf’s ears folded backwards and he reached out and smacked the cat in the side with his paw. Felix instinctively hissed at him, before freezing up as the wolf glared steadily into his eyes. His mind flashed to all the times the dire wolf had lunged forward to bite him, or to nip at his hindquarters or pull on his tail, the most recent being when he had argued with Holly earlier about what she needed Snowball for. He had endured the pain and beating of the wolf until reaching a compromise with Holly that he would get some of Snow’s bristles rather than kidnap her.

 

_ Steal  _ her, Holly had said. Implying she was just property or an item for a thief to steal rather than a living, breathing young animal whose innocence was being tested and pushed.

 

The wolf raised his head commandingly.  _ Whose pack are you siding with, cat? _

 

_ ‘Bendy’s pack,’  _ Felix thought fiercely.  _ ‘Holly’s pack is evil, and wrong, and full of darkness and hopelessness and needless cruelty.’  _ Yet he didn’t respond to the wolf, averting his gaze with cowardice.

 

_ Running with two packs never does a wolf any good, cat.  _ The wolf leaned his head downwards and nipped at Felix’s ear patronizingly. The cat flinched away, his anger finally dissipating a bit. The dire wolf was right. But how could he choose a pack if he wanted to do what’s right and be in Bendy’s pack when he was forced to do what’s wrong and stay in Holly’s pack? He wasn’t being given much of a choice.

 

The wolf stared at Felix for a moment longer before padding away towards Holly. Felix followed at his heels, keeping his gaze locked on the ground and away from the canine. Holly was messing around with a circle of runes carved into the stone floor, with Snowball’s bristles laying in the middle, along with two dandelions. She added another rune underneath the bristles before stepping back. Felix could recognize some of the runes.

 

Holly stared at her work for a moment before narrowing her black eyes. The runes suddenly exploded with golden light, making Felix forcefully shut his eyes and hiss. The dire wolf stumbled back too, shaking his head at the sudden fierce light. Holly did not even flinch.

 

As the light started to calm down, a loud wailing broke the room, startling Felix. Something was screaming- something young and weak was crying out in pain. It was an animal’s cry for sure, with the way it reached Felix’s ears. The wail of the creature translated directly to  _ pain, so much pain _ , that much was obvious.

 

Felix’s pelt was fluffed up in shock as he opened his eyes to stare at the dying light and the teeny, tiny creature laying curled up in a miserable ball in the center of the runes. It… was a kitten? With two trembling antenna like an insect, except at the tip of the antenna there were little dandelion puffs. To add even more to the bug-like features of the kitten, it had a pair of butterfly wings, albeit the tips of the wings were sharper than a normal butterfly’s. The wings seemed to be wet, fragile and flappy, lying on either side of the tiny kitten like dead weight, although Felix doubted they weighed much.

 

The tiny kitten mewled out again, eyes shut as it trembled and quaked in pain and fear. Felix stared at the kitten in a mixture of shock and awe. It was… so small and helpless that he couldn’t help but feel a strong stab of sympathy towards it. And it’s first introduction to life was one of pain and misery. How awful. When Snowball and Fireball had been created, had it been as painful for them?

 

Holly made a noise of frustration, scowling down at the little creature. "Molten pegasus feathers. Why the cuss did this thing come out? I used the same runes I used for Snowball, and dandelions." She exhaled out of her nose, irritated. "I even used some of her bristles!" She turned her glare onto Felix. "See, this is why I wanted Snowball herself and not just some dumb bristles!"

 

Felix frowned at her. What difference would Snowball being here make? "I don't think it matters, Holly. I mean, you  _ did  _ just create a new creature. Isn't that enough?"

 

"No!" Holly snapped, throwing her hands up in vexation. "I was supposed to create more dandehogs, not this cussing mistake!" She gestured to the cowering kitten. Felix's heart thudded sympathetically in his chest. He wanted to run up and hug it, and tell it everything was okay, although he wasn't sure how much the reassurance would do… Would the kitten understand his words at such a very young age?

 

"But why do you even want more dandehogs?" Felix inquered, tail swaying as he stared at the odd little bug-kitten. Deerhawk, dandehog and bugcat. That sure was a variety of animals Holly had created. Would she go further? Would she create more?

 

"Because-" Holly cut herself off, mouth hanging open. "Because, well… Why doesn't matter. Not like I'd tell you, cat." She sneered at him. "What matters is that somehow this mistake was created instead of two dandehogs. It even has dandelion antennae. Ugh, how mocking of it." She curled her lip in disgust at the small kitten, like it was a pile of garbage and  _ not  _ a cute, tiny, innocent bug-kitten that had done wrong but  _ exist  _ in Holly's eyes.

 

"Maybe my saliva affected it, or something?" Felix remarked, silently thinking,  _ 'And that bug blood from the beetle could have too. That'd explain the wings and antenna.' _

 

"Great," Holly huffed irritatedly, rolling her eyes at his suggestion. She muttered under her breath angrily, crossing her arms and scowling back down at the kitten. Without warning, she moved her foot back before slamming it into the bugcat.

 

Felix yowled in surprise as the kitten was kicked backwards, meowing in helpless distress. "Holly!" He screamed at the cog possessed girl. She just! She just  _ kicked a defenseless animal!  _ He launched himself forward, running towards the little kitten. He curled himself around the shivering baby cat, snarling at Holly, his fangs bared and ears flat against his skull. The kitten mewled out, pitiful and weak.

 

She raised an eyebrow at his actions. "What? Angry that I kicked the little baby kitten?" She rolled her eyes again. "So what? It's just some mistake."

 

The bugcat mewed sadly, twisting around a bit to shove it's tiny little nose into Felix's belly fur. Felix curled tighter around it, his tail covering it's back to keep the cold away from it. Without hesitance, he instinctively leaned his head down to rapidly give the little bug-kitten a few quick licks, trying to calm it down. Once it's shivering subsided and it pressed itself closer into Felix's side, tiny paws pressing against his stomach, he turned his head back to glare at Holly.

 

A low, feral growl left his throat. "It's not just some mistake, Holly. It's a living, breathing creature that you have  _ no right  _ to just kick like that."

 

Holly studied him with dark, calculating yet curious eyes. "I'd just let it starve, but if you want to take care of it, be my guest," she snarkily responded. She turned around and calmly walked towards the door, her cog moving to float behind her. "Dire wolf, c'mon. We've got some business to attend to." She exited the room, leaving Felix, the bug-kitten and the dire wolf behind.

 

The dire wolf glanced in Holly's direction before turning back towards the two felines. The wolf had stayed silent at Holly's side the entire time, watching their exchange with mild interest. The canine padded forward.

 

Felix let out a warning hiss, letting it fade in volume while also letting it drag out into a more deeper, guttural growl.  _ 'Stay away, mutt.' _

 

The wolf dipped his head placatingly.  _ I will do no harm to the cat pup. _

 

Felix narrowed his eyes distrustfully at the canine before hesitantly relaxing, although he kept his claws unsheathed just in case.

 

The wolf slowly leaned his head down, sniffing the little kitten. It's antennae twitched and it let out a light meow that was muffled by Felix's fur. Felix tensed a bit, but the kitten put up no more protest so he didn't attack the wolf. The wolf curiously tilted his head at the tiny creature.

 

Then, the wolf opened his mouth and snatched up the kitten by the scruff. It let out a loud mewl of protest, tiny little paws reaching out for Felix. Felix yowled, bolting upwards and swiping at the mutt. The neat scratch that formed on the canine's nose sent sweet satisfaction bubbling through Felix, but he ignored it in favor of hissing at the dire wolf.

 

The wolf's ears pricked upwards.  _ Calm down, cat. I am not harming your cat pup. _

 

"Put it down!" Felix spat, fur bristling as he got ready to swipe at the mutt again.

 

The wolf flicked an ear in response, taking a step back that Felix almost lunged at him for. The dire wolf slowly leaned his head down before gingerly plopping the kitten down. It meowed, wobbling on its feet but managing to stay upright. It's tiny little eyes remained shut, though.

 

The dire wolf cocked his head curiously at the bug-kitten while Felix bolted forward, wrapping himself around the kitten with a quick, reassuring lick to it's forehead. The kitten sat down and leaned into his warmth, meowing contentedly.

 

_ She is a healthy cat pup,  _ the dire wolf said, in a tone that suggested wonder and disbelief. He eyed the wings and antennae of the "cat pup" with intrigue. Felix glanced at the canine before returning back to comforting the kitten.

 

The wolf continued.  _ She will need food and shelter. You'll need to find the cat pup a good den to bed in until she has opened her eyes.  _ He tilted his head at the kitten. He was curious as to why the kitten was already strong enough to stand, if not walk. Felix was too, but he chalked it up to being born from runes. Snowball was young too, but she got around just fine.

 

"Dire wolf!" Holly called out again, tone conveying irritance. The dire wolf turned and padded out of the door with a quick wave of his tail.

 

Felix turned his full attention back to the little kitten curled up at his side. Her tiny bug wings fluttered a bit. They looked weak and fragile, so Felix made extra sure he didn't touch them. The kitten had already been put through so much pain, what with her awful creation and Holly kicking her. What a way to be welcomed into the world.

 

“It’s going to be okay,” he promised her, gently licking her forehead. Her antennae twitched and she let out a tiny mew, twisting her body around. She placed her little paws on his shoulder and wobbly stood up, meowing needily in his ear. Felix let out an amused purr, although it stopped shortly. He softly nudged the bug-kitten until she sat on her haunches. She meowed again as he stopped curling around her, demanding his warmth. He touched his nose to her forehead, assuring her he wasn’t going anywhere.

 

He glanced around. He needed a good den for the bugcat. But where would he find a safe place in this chaotic, shadowy castle? There were so many creatures wandering around now… What if they harmed the kitten? What if they attacked her when he wasn’t there, thinking she would make a good meal? Every animal he had seen so far- except for Snowball, who was around the same size as the kitten- was bigger than the tiny bug-kitten. He frowned, claws flexing out and scratching the stone floor. There were only a few places he knew in the castle where no wild creatures went, only Holly, the dire wolf and the griffin. But he didn’t want the kitten in close proximity with Holly…. Who knows what cruel torture she would subject the little cat too.

 

The bugcat mewled loudly, wobbling forward to bump his leg with her nose.

 

“Be patient,” Felix murmured. He gingerly grabbed her by the scruff. She wiggled in his grip before going still. Felix cautiously walked out of the room with the kitten dangling in his grasp. Her fragile little bug wings fluttered uselessly at her sides, tickling Felix’s muzzle.

 

He ducked around a corner as he heard the clip-clopping of hooves against a stone floor. He caught a glimpse of a beautiful white coat as he went in the opposite direction, suggesting it was the unicorn he had seen earlier. Even if it was a pure-hearted creature of light like a unicorn, Felix wouldn’t trust it to be close to the bug-kitten.

 

Dodging a few more wandering animals, he reached the familiar room he was looking for. The first one he had ever been in in this cursed castle. The old leash was still tied around the leg of the table that was set beside the clawed-up couch. The griffin’s dog bed was still littered with feathers in the corner. The only new additions were the cat bed on top of the table and the food bowl that had “FELIX” written neatly and tauntingly on the side. Dry, untouched cat food layed mockingly inside it.

 

Felix walked underneath the table before slipping behind the couch. He reached a small hole in the wall that took some effort to squeeze into. It was just big enough for him with barely enough room to turn around in. He gently placed the baby bugcat down. With a swift lick to her forehead, he wiggled back out of the hole and out from behind the couch. He padded over to the food bowl and hesitantly picked out a few pieces of dry kibble with his teeth. Would the bug-kitten even be able to eat them at such a young age? Did she need softer food, or milk? And would she even eat food like this at all, or would she be more than an insect in this regard? Or even like a plant, if her dandelion antenna signified anything. Would she photosynthesis? Did Snowball photosynthesis? He didn’t think so.

 

Well, she was looked mostly cat, so Felix would put his money on her eating meat and bugs. Still, he would need to find something softer for her to eat. For now, these little pellets would have to do.

 

He slipped back behind the couch and stopped in front of the hole, poking his head through. He placed the cat food down in front of the bugcat. She leaned forward to blindly sniff at them before shivering and pushing herself up against the wall. She meowed out desitutely. Her mew wasn’t asking for food or shelter, just comfort and warmth.

 

Felix sighed as he looked at the disregarded food pellets. She would have to eat something eventually. Was she not hungry at all?

 

He pulled himself carefully into the hole, curling himself around the tiny kitten, gingerly nudging her weak wings out of harm’s way. She nuzzled herself against his belly, hiding her nose amongst his fur. Her little paws gently kneaded at his stomach, although Felix couldn’t tell if she was searching for milk she would never find or not. He licked her forehead comfortingly.

 

His chest was tight as he stared at the young bugcat. Would she be okay? When would she eat? Did she need to eat? Snowball ate bugs, and he’d seen Fireball eat scraps and chunks of meat before, so the bugcat would need to eat too, surely. But she didn’t seem to have any desire to eat, just to stick close to his side. Maybe she just didn’t need to eat often?

 

Come to think of it, when had Felix last eaten? Granny had given him scraps when he had still been in the house, which was… almost two days ago? He hadn’t slept a lot either, and with the stormy clouds above it was always hard to tell the exact time. He didn’t feel hungry or tired, just concerned for the well-being of the bugcat, and Snowball, and Bendy, and everyone else back at the house. Oh stars, had they found the dead body yet? Morning- or what Felix assumed was morning- would be nearing.

 

Felix shut his eyes closed tightly, trying not to think about it. It was just a body, and there were probably a lot more of them around. Better to get them used to the sight now rather than later, right? Right?

 

...The bug-kitten let out a drowsy meow before she drifted off to sleep, calm and relaxed from Felix’s insistent licking. He put his nose to her forehead, watching her little body rise and fall with her breathing.

 

What if she was one of those dead bodies one day?

 

The image of her being kicked by Holly was stuck replaying in his head, this time with a different outcome of a bloodied, innocent little kitten with crumpled, torn wings.

 

Stars.

 

Stars, no.

 

He didn’t want to think about that. He would protect her. He would defend her until his dying breath from Holly, from the dire wolf, from the griffin, from  _ anyone.  _

 

_ ‘Just like you said you’d protect Bendy, and Boris? And  _ Finley? _ ’  _ His mind whispered.

 

He didn’t answer.

 

**Bonus Scene: Figaro’s Burns**

 

He had been hiding from a giant snake with his Miss when there was a sudden flash and he was in a new, very,  _ very  _ hot place. He mewled out in distress as something grabbed him by the scruff.

 

His Miss! Where was his Miss? Where was he! He demanded to know!

 

“Aww, calm down, kitty,” a singsong voice crooned in his ear. He swung around and swatted at the speaker, his fur rising as a dark, seething feeling floated suffocatingly around. He hissed angrily, trying to wiggle his way out of the firm grip.

 

The girl smiled at him, rolling a needle around in her other hand that didn’t hold Figaro. “C’mon now, be still. This isn’t gonna hurt unless you make it, kitten.”

 

He hissed at her.  _ Drop me! _ He commanded. He clawed at the hand that held him. He was a feline! He must be treated with respect! Did this girl not know that? How dare she touch his handsome pelt without his say so!

 

He glanced down below him and his stomach drop. He mewled and stop struggling in the girl's grasp, eyes wide. They were so high up in the air! Above a bunch of roaring, flickering flames and a giant striped cat that was hunting her prey.

 

He looked helplessly at the girl.  _ Do not drop me. _

 

The girl was smiling, although her eyes were a black hollow filled with burning anger. She raised her hand to gently pet some of Figaro's fur. On any other day, Figaro would have swatted at her and scolded her for daring to touch his precious fur. But now? He didn't want the girl to drop him, so he stayed limp in her grasp.

 

He had had some pretty crazy days, but this was perhaps his most frightful. It had started out with that weird rodent puffball, Snowball, showing up, and it had gone further and further downhill. He had been chased by a giant cat, his own kind, and had clawed a weird sock guy full of bugs. Now, he had been separated from his Miss and was dangling in the grasp of a dangerous, dark stranger above cackling fire.

 

"Don't be scared, kitty. It'll be okay," the girl comforted him, raising the needle. His fur bristled at the sight of it, remembering when his Miss had taken him to that sharp-scented, white-walled human den to get something called his shots. Visits to that white-walled den were the worst!

 

With slow, precise movements, she pricked his neck, right under his bow. He mewled out again, this time louder. He hated this! He jerked in her grasp, swatting at the needle. The girl scowled at him as she forcefully pulled the needle away. Mix that in with his sporadic movements, and the sharp point of the needle had created a neat, thin scar on his neck.

 

He cried out. Ow! This was not like the way the white-coated people in the white-walled den used the needles on him! They were much more gentler! This girl was rough! And dark! And dangerous!

 

"I told you to stay still, cat," the girl snarled at him. "I hope that leaves a mark."

 

And then she tossed him.

 

She. Tossed. Him.

 

Figaro yowled out in distress as he soared closer to the hard ground and searing flames. No, no, no! He was a feline! Felines were graceful, they were elegant and cool. They did not get tossed away like trash and burned to death. He would not fall into those flames! Cats landed on their feet! Always!

 

He twisted his body around desperately as the ground raced closer to him, flames all around. He shut his eyes as the inevitable happened. His tiny legs seemed to fold underneath him, and his breath vanished, but… He was alright! He was… okay! He survived!

 

He meowed as his tail suddenly burst with hot, searing, burning pain. He was on fire! He bolted away from the flames as they encased him. His paw landed in a patch of ashes that seared his soft paw pad, making him jump into the air. His back was scorched by flames and he ran forward again, helpless and lost.

 

Where was his Miss! Where were her friends! He even wished that irritating little Snowball was here! Someone save him! Someone help him!

 

He smacked into a beam of wood and he turned away from flames. He yowled and backed away, one of his eyes snapping shut painfully as hot cinders burned his eye. Ow, ow, ouch!

 

Burning, he was burning! So much, everywhere at once! Hot, hot, hot! Make it stop!

 

He slipped over his own paws, tumbling forward, watching the world whorl around him, lit by flames. All he could smell was hot, ashy fire.

 

He smacked into a broken pipe and then landed face first into a small puddle of stinky water that on any other day would have made him hiss in disgust, but now was his savior. He rolled around in the water that leaked out of the pipe gratefully.

 

Oh, oh, everything still hurt. He wasn't burning anymore, but everything was aching, and bruised, and soft and tender, and painful. Trembling with every pawstep, he curled up underneath the broken pipe with no where else to go.

 

Where, oh where, was his Miss?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The bugcat is based off of a [Tumblr post](https://wishem.tumblr.com/post/175895434868/jadetheamazing-sologatos-51026-wishem-cat/) and a cat doodle drawn by [wishem](https://wishem.tumblr.com/) !  
>   
> 
> 
> And I drew Figaro with his burns!  
>   
> 
> 
> Thank you for reading, stay tuned for next chapter 22: Funeral for the Fallen, good luck and good writing!


	22. Funeral for the Fallen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow this is both a depressing and light-hearted chapter! Just thought you all could use a little fluff amongst all this angst and misery! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Funeral for the Fallen**

 

“We can’t just  _ leave it.” _

 

“But what if it’s some kind of trap?”

 

“It’s a  _ dead body!  _ Of an innocent toon!”

 

And that was the argument starting another starfallen day of misery in Toon Town. Alice, Granny, Charming, and Snow White, with silent support from Mickey, argued that they should pay respects to the awfully murdered skunk toon and bury them while Bendy, Cala and Mugs worried it was some kind of trap. Boris hadn’t made an argument for either side, stuck staring numbly at the grotesque corpse laid in front of the house, tears pricking in the corners of his eyes. Bendy and Mugs had tried to get the pup to go back inside, but he insisted on staying outside with them.

 

Bendy frowned as he refused to meet the heated glare of Alice and the disappointed one of Granny. He kept his eyes trained on the skunk’s corpse. It wasn’t that he wanted to disrespect the poor victim, but he couldn’t just ignore how suspicious it was. “It’s just outside of Alice’s barrier. Last time someone went outside the border they got attacked.”

 

He grimaced upon remembering the winding wound that started at Sammy's ear tip, sliced down his face, right over his eye, and curled down his neck until it stopped right below his rib cage. Cuss. Sammy was lucky he survived with all that blood loss.

 

"We're all here, together, right now, so if we do go outside my barrier we can all just protect each other!" Alice pointed out, glaring daggers at him.

 

"But what if Holly uses those… summoning runes and summons us somewhere else? We can't risk it," Bendy said. Holly could summon them right in front of one of her little monsters, or over a pit of lava, or in the middle of the ocean, or  _ something.  _ Could they really take the chance of not only being separated, but also of a possible death?

 

"We can't get separated, not right now," Mugman added as if he could read Bendy's thoughts. "We're all so weak… and panicked and confused."

 

Alice's glare switched between Bendy and Mugs. "And toons out there are not only weak, panicked, and confused, but also lost, afraid and probably severely injured with not a clue as to what's going on!" She waved a hand at the dead skunk. "Some innocent civilian has been killed because of this. There must be countless others. We don't know how many deaths this hell in Toon Town has caused, Bendy. We know at least two, and that's two too many for my liking." Her tone softened, but her gaze remained hard and fiery.

 

“If that were Finley’s body, you would have had no hesitation in retrieving that corpse, outside the barrier or no,” Snow White quietly stated. Bendy flinched and glanced away. That wasn’t… fair. Of course he would want to save his friend’s body… He had done that last time, when that cussing witch’s cat had been clawing at Fin’s corpse. He thought he’d killed that damned cat, but of course it had nine lives or some stardust and came back just to taunt them and get Sammy injured. Sunblazing moonrocks.

 

But he guessed it wasn’t fair to abandon a stranger’s corpse either. They were innocent, and didn’t deserve this… Even if it was a trap, they still needed to uphold  _ some  _ morals. Still… he wasn’t sure…

 

“I can temporarily extend my barrier,” Alice suggested. Bendy jerked his head up to stare wide-eyed at her. By all means, yes, that was a reasonable solution, but… They were a week into Holly’s nightmare in Toon Town, and Alice was beginning to look worse for the ware, to put it nicely. Holding up two barriers, one around the house and one containing Holly in Toon town, and using angel magic to fend off monsters, not to mention the stress of losing her halo and getting it back, and Finley’s death, and now knowing that innocents were being killed too… She was pale and sickly-looking, drops of sweat on the sides of her forehead, and her beautiful dark eyes seemed dim without their usual joy and light. Her halo bobbed sadly above her head, it’s glow faint and faded. Her pretty long hair hadn’t been brushed since the start of this all, leaving it frizzy and tangled.

 

She couldn’t strain herself more by extending the barrier! Hadn’t they talked about this earlier? For both of them to stop pretending they were fine enough to do everything? “No!” He said quickly, making Alice blink in surprise at his sharp, concerned tone. “No, just... I… fine. We can- we can… get the dead body, but if anything suspicious happens-” He didn’t get to finish his sentence as Alice turned around to approach the corpse of the skunk. Granny wiped a tiny tear away from her eye and waddled back inside, presumably to get something to carry the dead body with. Cala’s gaze flickered briefly between Mugs, Granny, Alice and the corpse before the gorgon walked after the gopher.

 

Bendy watched closely as Alice exitted the perimeter of the barrier, right where he could vaguely sense the warm angel magic end. Snow White, Charming and Mickey followed her. His whole body was tense, waiting for something to leap out and attack the angel and the others, or for them to just vanish without a word, just that familiar evil glow of golden runes. He noticed how Mugs’s finger was in that familiar finger gun shape, a light blue glow surrounding his finger tip, eyes scanning around as if anticipating he’d have to shoot something.

 

Granny and Cala returned quickly with a large old blanket that had a tear near one of the corners. Mugs followed the two as they approached the body while Bendy hung back with Boris, casting a worried look at his oddly silent brother. The wolf’s ears were drooped.

 

“Hey, bro, you gonna be okay?” Bendy murmured to the pup.

 

His tail swayed sullenly. “I just… wish we had stopped this all.”

 

Bendy winced. Stars. Where had they gone wrong? At what point had they reached the point where they couldn’t go back? Surely there was some way to fix this starfallen mess… Not that there was any way to fix death.

 

“I do too, bro… I do too,” Bendy murmured. “We’ll find some way.” Some way to… what? Bendy didn’t exactly know. But whatever it was, he’d make sure he’d protect his brother through it all, no matter what.

 

He returned his attention to the others as Mugs and Charming carefully lifted the body wrapped cozily in a blanket. It was deeply unsettling that they had to do this at all… Guess he could add watching his friends lift the dead body of a stranger wrapped in an old, dusty blanket to the list of cussed up things he had witnessed or experienced.

 

He followed the group silently as they trudged back into the house solemnly. Dr. Oddswell and Red took one look at them and frowned, Red sighing, gently shaking her head. Mugs and Charming laid the skunk on the upside down couch that had gotten lodged in the corner of a room, stuck.

 

“Poor innocent soul,” Granny wept softly, dipping her head down respectfully.

 

“Um,” Mugs said awkwardly, inching towards the door. “I-I’m gonna go start digging a hole…”

 

Cala cast a sorrowful look towards the deceased skunk before following after the cupman. “I’ll help too.”

 

Two of the injured toons, one a pale bunny woman with smeared make-up, dusty fur and a ripped ear and the other that guy who loved knives.

 

“Hey, we heard about the, um, dead body… Is, uh-” The knife guy paused mid-sentence, eyes widening as he stopped moving, staring in shock at the dead skunk. Perhaps this was his first time seeing a dead body? He hadn’t seen Finley’s corpse, after all, just his grave. The bunny glanced at him, confused and worried.

 

“No,” he whispered. “No, no, no, that’s not- she said she’d be fine.” His voice cracked. “If any of us could survive, it was her.”

 

Granny gazed dolefully at the young man. “Did you know her, sonny?”

 

“I- sh-she… she was my friend… We- we both went to Yen Sid University. W-we met in a-a-ancient languages and culture cl-class… I- this can’t be happening, this  _ can’t  _ be her,” he breathed out shakily. After a moment of hesitation he rushed over to her body, reaching out a hand as if to touch her before wincing and pulling his hand away, grabbing it with his other hand. Granny patted his back consolingly.

 

The bunny woman glanced at him conflictingly before slowly backing away and leaving the room. Bendy briefly wondered if he should follow her out… He felt so out of place here. He had argued for just leaving this skunk girl’s rotting corpse outside… And it turns out she was a close friend of the knife dude.

 

It was like a smack to his face. A very hard smack, like someone had thrown a brick at his face. Other people were being affected. Yes, sure, he had seen the destruction and blood first hand, and known it was terrible… But now he was seeing outsiders, complete strangers, cry and mourn over their dead friends... Who knows what else had happened. Was a mother cradling her dead child in her arms? Was a brother being slaughtered as he valiantly and hopelessly defended his little sister? Had two friends walked beside each other, promising to stay together, only for one to get lost, and the other to die? Had a group of co-workers decided to be kind to one another, just to get through this misery and sorrow? How much pain had really been caused, and would Bendy ever see the full extent of it?

 

The knife guy started sniffing, trying to wipe away his tears as they formed. Granny and Mickey both quietly comforted him.

 

“R-Raine…. Rainey, Ray-Ray, I’m s-so sorry,” the guy mumbled. “I should have never suggested splitting u-up… I-I-I…” He choked on his words, burying his face into his hands as the tears streamed hot down his face.

 

“It’s okay, let it out,” Granny calmly soothed him.

 

He cried out as his body trembled, sobbing loudly for a few seconds before he lifted his head and furiously wiped the tears away. He sniffled a few more times before he leaned down and spoke softly into the dead toon’s ear. “I-I’ll find the K’s, whatever it takes, I promise. D-Dead or alive, I will find them. Kr-Kristy and K-K…” He broke off into a sob again, pressing his hand against his eye to stop the tears from leaking out. “It… I-It was so kn-knife to meet you, Raine. S-Stars, that’s so stupid… I’m sorry.”

 

Bendy couldn’t take it anymore. He broke away from the group and slipped into the kitchen where the bunny lady, another injured toon and Sneezy currently were. He leaned against the slanted wall and closed his eyes shut tight, lost in his endless thoughts.

 

Had Holly killed the skunk girl- Raine? It would only make sense if she had killed the very toon she had laid outside their house… And that was a very un-Holly thing to do. Well, a very un- pre-cog Holly thing to do… It was… insane to think that cute, determined girl who had worked hard to help Bendy and Boris on their quest for the ink machine and helping those with ink illness could have turned so evil so easily because of such a bizarre thing as a  _ cog _ … What had the world come to?

 

A cog-possessed girl with a talent that let her remember everything she ever experienced, read, learned or saw was destroying Toon Town and everyone inside. How long would Alice’s barrier last? How long before Holly got out and began destroying more and more? Could the girl destroy the whole word? No, no, that was impossible. Angels would stop her, maybe even demons too… Although they’d probably relish in the destruction based off what Hat had told him.

 

Stars. This was just a cussed up world, wasn’t it? Anything pure was just taken and destroyed. Charismatic girl who just wanted to finish college? Bam, turn her evil. An amazing author and adventurer? Missing without a clue as to where he went. A former street performer who dreamed of making it big? Why not go ahead and kill him, sure, that sounded fun. A pair of brothers who just wanted to live their completely normal lives as humble mechanics? Make a crazy owl come along and throw their life into disarray, and give the older brother an incurable illness as a cherry on top. Perfect. Wonderful.

 

What insane deity had decided this was what they wanted to happen? In whose mind was this okay? When would it end?

 

Bendy broke out of his thoughts to follow the others as they took the body outside to bury her. They lowered her gently into the hole Mugs and Cala had quickly dug out, opposite to Finley’s grave. The knife guy stood numbly in front of his friend’s new grave, arms wrapped around himself like he was cold. He closed his eyes.

 

“She was loved by everyone she met, even bigots and idiots… She worked hard for what she believed in and never gave up…” The man sighed. “Her family will miss her dearly.”

 

Snow White dipped her head down. “She sounds like a lovely lady and a kind soul.”

 

And this was what funeral that “lovely lady and kind soul” got… buried in the backyard of some random person’s house, mourned by a bunch of strangers and one friend. Her family probably didn’t even know she was dead… Would the ones in the house be the ones to break the news? Would the knife guy do it by himself?

 

_ ‘Will her family ever find out?’  _ His mind whispered.  _ ‘Are they already dead too?’ _

 

Who else was dead as well? Who else had died amongst the chaos? There was no way someone else hadn’t died by now, a week into this mess…. They were mourning for them as well. All the innocents that have fallen and have yet to perish. The ones who died alone and the ones who died protecting others and the ones who died despite others trying to save them. He mourned too for those with crushed spirits as they watched their friends go limp in front of them, or who had witnessed the horror of someone’s head getting ripped from their body, or who had simply seen the bloodshed around them and wept.

 

The dark, swirling clouds above had decided now was the time they would rain. The little droplets of wetness didn’t help improve the mood by any means. Of course it would rain now. Cuss, Holly controlled the weather now. She was probably doing this on purpose. She could be watching them right now with a smug grin on her face, forcing the clouds above into a downpour just to add insult to injury. Cussing, starfallen moonrocks.

 

There was a lengthy, mournful silence, no one really knowing how to react or what to say. They may have had no connection to the skunk girl, yet her death had affected all of them… It was hard to ignore a dead body thrown onto your doorstep after all…. And if it wasn’t a trap…

 

“This has to be a warning,” Bendy spoke up after the silence had become too long and deafening. The others glanced at him, startled out of what could only be their own wandering, gruesome thoughts. He hesitated before continuing at their puzzled looks. “If it wasn’t a trap to lure us outside Alice’s barrier then… it’s a warning for us.”

 

“A warning about… what?” Cala inquered.

 

Bendy tilted his head slightly as he thought. “...For us to leave the barrier.” He glanced briefly at Alice. “That we have to leave the barrier or she’ll kill more innocent toons. That she isn’t going to wait for us.”

 

“No, she can’t,” Wiston piped up from where he stood beside his brother, Fireball loyally perched on his shoulder. “Sh-she can’t. Holly- Holly wouldn’t…. She… This isn’t her- her fault, i-t’s the cog, a-and…” Xedo placed a paw on the younger fox’s shoulder and murmured something in his ear, pulling his brother off to the side.

 

“I…” Snow White closed her eyes, pushing a strand of wet hair behind her ear. “It is… upsetting to think about. But it’s probably true.”

 

“What are we supposed to do, then?” Alice asked. “Leave the barrier and… do what? Attack the castle? That hasn’t worked before.”

 

“We could let her come to us. Since she wants us out of the barrier so bad, surely she plans to come to us,” Mugs suggested.

 

“So we leave the barrier and just wait?” Boris murmured, folding his backwards, his voice somewhat raspy.

 

Mugs shrugged. “I guess. I still have my sleep dart.”

 

“I do too. And so does Alice,” Bendy added.

 

“Then us three should separate from the main group and try to lure her out,” Alice said.

 

“No, not all of us,” Bendy argued. “The three of us would be too intimidating. She’s more likely to appear if she can single out one of us. If there’s too many of us she’ll just sick her little pets on us.”

 

“But it’s risky if one of you is away from the group.” Snow White frowned.

 

“It’s a risk we’ll have to take. So far sticking together and playing it safe hasn’t done us much good. At least then only one of us are at a huge risk for harm rather than all of us,” the demon responded, tail swaying slightly.

 

“I can do it. I can shoot Holly if worse comes to worse,” Mugman volunteered, raising his hand somewhat. The others frowned at his comment, but raised no complaint.

 

“No,” Bendy said, shaking his head. “You need to protect the others. If worse comes to worse, that’s Holly going after the group and attacking you all full force, minions or no. Someone with far range makes the group as an entirety a less likely target.” He turned to Alice as the pale angel shifted from foot to foot, frowning. “And you can’t either, Alice. You need to focus on keeping the barriers up. We can’t have anything happening to you.” She dropped her gaze and nodded without a fight.

 

“So then you’re volunteering to separate from the group, Bendy?” Boris asked, frowning.

 

“Yes,” Bendy stated firmly. “I’ll be fine, bro. I can handle myself. I have the dart.”

 

Oddswell’s tongue flickered in and out of his mouth. “I should make more of those sedative darts. We are running out of supplies, but they are quite helpful in not only facing Miss May but with taking out any creatures that happen to come our way.”

 

“Don’t waste too much on them, doc,” Bendy advised. “They’re only useful if they hit their mark.”

 

The lizard’s tongue flicked again. “I know how much I should and shouldn’t make, Bendy.”

 

Alice cleared her throat. “So we’re all agreed on the plan then?”

 

They all traded wary glances, but slowly nodded.

 

“When do you guys leave?” Cala asked softly.

 

“No time like the present,” Bendy answered. “We just have to get supplies and then… well, we’ll figure everything else out as we go.”

 

With that said, the group dispersed, leaving the knife guy standing over the grave of his friend in the rain with Granny going back inside to grab an umbrella while Snow White stood patiently beside him.

 

As the others began to grab and organize what little supplies they had left, Bendy walked over to Alice. “Hey, Alice, can I talk to you for a second?” The angel blinked in surprise.

 

“Um, sure.” She followed him as he walked into the large room that had previously held both the cog and the doll. The doll had been moved from the room for obvious reasons, now hidden in Granny’s room since they believed that was one of the less obvious places, although Bendy worried that it might endanger the old gopher.

 

“What do you need to talk about?” Alice questioned, glancing around the room before focusing on him. She looked like she had more focus than she did earlier, but Bendy guessed that was because this was a one-on-one chat rather than a group discussion that she could fade into the background of.

 

“The barriers.  _ Your  _ barriers. The one’s you’ve been maintaining for a week now?”

 

Alice blinked again, puzzled. “Um, yes, those do sound familiar.”

 

Bendy sighed. “Alice, it’s been  _ a week.  _ You’ve been exhausting yourself keeping both of those barriers up  _ and  _ going out to fight Holly’s monsters. I’d seriously question if you haven't been eating and sleeping as well because it looks like you’re about to keel over and die.”

 

She flinched, guiltily looking to the ground, holding her hands together in front of her. “I…” Her gaze flickered around for a moment, going from dot to dot on the design of the floor below them. She closed her eyes and mouth for a moment before opening them, a determined and stubborn glint in her eyes. “I can’t just drop the barriers. If I do that, either everyone in this house gets attacked or innocent toons from all around the world get attacked. I can’t just let that happen, Bendy. Not on my good conscious.”

 

The demon frowned at her. “And  _ I  _ can’t let you pass out from over-exertion on  _ my  _ good conscious.”

 

She shifted, glancing over her shoulder with a conflicted quirk to her lips. “I know my limits, Bendy. I know how far I can push them. Remember when Hat was extracting my magic? That was exhausting and draining too, but I always bounced back.”

 

“If the others and I hadn’t come to rescue you and get your halo, you might never have bounced back,” Bendy bitterly remarked. Alice seemed to bristle at his comment, suddenly scowling at him with a sharp glare.

 

“I didn’t ask for you to ‘rescue’ me. You all decided to do that by yourselves, despite the fact I had told Holly not to tell you guys I was even an angel. Guess she was all for betraying my trust even back then,” she snapped, glowering at him with heated hatred. She startled at her own actions, jerking her shoulders backwards a bit and blinking. There was an awkward pause in the air before she took a calming breath, frowning. “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that outburst to happen. I just…” She let out a lengthy sigh. “All the stress is getting to me again. I’m happy that you guys saved me from Hat, I really am.”

 

Bendy softened, smiling understandingly. “I’m just worried for your health and safety, Alice. I don’t want to have to ‘rescue’ you again. But I will if I have to, even if it’s from yourself.”

 

Alice’s brows raised a bit as her cheeks flushed slightly. “Th… Thank you, Bendy.” She smiled gently back at him. “I’ll try not to use my angel magic anymore. I’ll stay back at the house so I can focus on the barriers and make them last as long as possible.”

 

He slowly nodded, content with that compromise. “Okay... And you’ll tell me if you’re feeling unwell, right?”

 

Her smile grew, eyes twinkling brightly, a stark contrast to how dark and worn they were before. “I promise.”

 

“Good,” he breathed out, relieved. “Thank you, Alice.”

 

The light tint on her cheeks grew a shade darker as she shyly glanced away. “You’re welcome.” She bit her lip, frowning a bit. “But, Bendy…”

 

He blinked, tilting his head to the side. “Yes?”

 

She gazed at him, her eyes revealing her concern and distress. She placed her hand on his shoulder, that familiar angel warmth spreading just from her touch along with the breezy scent of a freshly rained in forest. “Promise me you won’t do anything risky and get yourself seriously hurt? That you’ll come back to the house?”

 

Bendy stared into her eyes for a moment, lost and captivated. “I… I promise, Alice. Of course.” His smile returned. “We’ll both be fine.”

 

She chuckled lightly, “The finest angel and demon around.”

 

He grinned back at her. “So fine the world can’t handle us!”

 

She coughed into her hand to muffle a burst of laughter. “Oh heavens, we’re so feather-brained.”

 

“Feather-brained? Well that explains why my brain feels like it’s being tickled.”

 

Alice let out a sharp laugh that faded into giggles. “Okay, no, even I can agree that joke was awful. That was the farthest thing from funny, Bendy.”

 

“Really? Then why are you laughing?” Bendy playfully raised a brow.

 

“Because! It’s so stupid I can’t help myself,” she laughed into her hand again, gorgeous eyes sparkling as she stared at him.

 

“Well, so long as my stupid jokes can make you laugh, I think I’m good.” Bendy couldn’t help but stare back with a dumb smile on his face. Whenever Alice laughed it felt like the world around him vanished, unable to focus on anything else but her voice and her warmth and her beauty. It was like his own personal drug, one of the few lights in the dark, dark tunnel he walked through.

 

Alice rolled her eyes, but her smile was playful and her cheeks remained a cute, light tint. “Okay, comedian, why don’t we head back to the rest of the group, hmm?” She nodded towards the door, smiling happily. Her messy black hair flowed over her shoulders at the action.

 

“Fine,” he said, jokingly sighing like he was dreading it. Alice giggled softly before turning and walking away, her hand trailing down from his shoulder to his arm as she moved away, a faint bounce to her step. He couldn’t help but notice how her fingers just barely brushed his hand, perhaps accidentally, as she left.

 

He closed his eyes and let out a steadying breath, waiting for his beating heart to calm down and his warm cheeks to cool down before following after Alice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyy, look, it’s Oddswell’s first speaking line in this story! Chapter 22 XD Also, so much foreshadowing this chapter~
> 
> And, yes, that end scene is sort of, emphasis on sort of, supposed to be a mirror to Chapter 97: The Talk from Inky Mystery’s end scene. Not so much their discussion about her being scared of big him and all, obviously, but the cute lil worrying between the two.
> 
> And here's some wonderful, absolutely amazing fanart by [RogueFalcon](https://roguefalcon.tumblr.com/)! Look at that poor little bugcat ;(
> 
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> 
> Thank you for reading, stay tuned for next chapter: Bunny Stew, good luck and good writing~!


	23. Bunny Stew

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, writing this chapter, all I could think about was "cat v dog, you're canine trash, there's nothing I like more than a canine getting whacked, with my baseball bat, how'd you like that?" Welp, aside from that, hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Bunny Stew**

 

There was, of course, uneasiness in the air. They didn’t have a solid plan, but they didn’t have anything else. They just had to be on edge for any surprises, which there would most definitely be knowing Holly’s endless knowledge of runes and spells.

 

Bendy let out a deep breath, glancing towards where the others hid amongst the ruined alleyways of Toon Town. Mugman, Boris, Charming, Mickey and Valentine were well-hidden. He continued to cautiously walk towards Holly's castle, Snowball's bristles tickling his neck as she snuggled closer to him, meeping a warning. The dandehog had insisted on coming with them, hiding herself away in Bendy's pockets.

 

His heart pounded in his chest but he kept walking forward. How close could he get to the castle if he was going solo? None of Holly's animals seemed to be wandering around here. The only ones they had seen were the normal monsters running amuck on the streets. Still, they knew that didn't make the place any less dangerous. A trap could set off anywhere, a vicious creature could be summoned right in front of them, anything.

 

What was the likelihood that Holly already knew what they were doing? She couldn't have her little pets watching them every moment of the day, and they had been inside Alice's barrier most of the time as well. Surely she couldn't know… Still, who's to say she didn't have a tracking rune on them? Who's to say she hadn't already been alerted by her cussing little witch's cat or some other monster?

 

As he got roughly a meter away from the starfallen castle, he paused, eyeing it warily. He didn't want to glance back at the group again in case anything was watching him. Snowball meeped again on his shoulder. Would the puffball make Holly more or less likely to appear? Would Snowball be in harm's way or no? Even being out here with her was risky.

 

He hesitantly took a few steps closer towards the large, wooden door of the gigantic structure. He was almost near the door when there was a bright, golden flash that made him tense up immediately, backing away from the door. What was going to attack him this time?

 

There was a loud, ear-shattering and familiar roar as a large feline launched itself at him, accompanied by the screeching and soaring of that sunblazing giant eagle above. He dipped out of the way of the fire tiger's claws as it swiped at him. 

 

Only two? And the eagle didn't seem to be after him, just circling and watching above in the skies.

 

He cursed under his breath as the fire tiger lunged for him, fangs snapping a little too close to his head for comfort. The tiger's paw slammed into him, sending him flying into the air and knocking him into a jutting boulder on the barren ground. He scrambled away as the tiger pounced again, Snowball meeping frantically and clinging to the collar of his jacket.

 

From the corner of his eye, he noticed Boris run forward from where he and the others hid before someone- Mugs?- reached out to grab him and pull him back. But it was too late. The eagle’s keen eyes had already spotted him. The eagle shrieked at the top of its lungs as it dove towards them. Bendy, meanwhile, bolted towards them as the fire tiger raced after him. He’d rather they deal with the large creatures together than him get pummelled by an overgrown kitty with a temper, literally.

 

To his surprise, though, the fire tiger stopped and turned around, trotting back to the castle and sitting down in front of the entrance, eyes trained on Bendy and ears pricked for danger. It was guarding the entrance? Why?

 

Well, whatever the reason, Bendy was glad that they would only be dealing with the eagle.

 

...aaaand he spoke too soon.

 

Right as he was about to reach the others as they fought off the large bird, a large-fanged canine slammed into his side, knocking him into another alleyway separate from the others. Snowball meep as she was tossed off of his shoulder, floating in the air, tiny paws frantically waving. The wolf snarled at him and snapped his jaw around Bendy’s upper arm, fangs sinking in deeply, and painfully.

 

“Cuss-” Bendy hissed out, kicking the mutt in the side of the head. It yelped and stumbled backwards, glaring at him, its lips pulled back in a bloodied snarl. “Beat it, mutt.”

 

He swore he saw the wolf’s eyes darken at his comment. It barked sharply at him and lunged forward. Bendy stuck his uninjured arm out and punched it in the throat, knocking it away a bit. It’s fangs just barely grazed over his newest injury. The wolf tumbled over a piece of trash, looking startled at its appearance.

 

_ ‘Dumb mutt,’  _ Bendy thought. He rushed forward to punch it harshly in the face, maybe give it a bloody nose if that was possible in canines, but, of course, something prevented him.

 

A black cat leaped out from the shadows, smacking lamely into Bendy’s chest. It hopped away from him and landed on all fours protectively in front of the wolf. It hadn’t even scratched him? The cat glanced down at its own claws, looking worried. It hesitated as it unsheathed them, before seeming to rethink its decision and resheath them.

 

“You cussing witch’s cat,” Bendy spat. “Come back with your nine lives just to taunt me?” His spiked tail lashed. The cat winced and backed up a bit, looking guiltily at the ground. What? What the cuss? Was Bendy reading into things or did this cat  _ actually  _ look guilty? “What? Witch’s cat feeling a little guilty about causing the death of an innocent?” The cat jerked its head up, gazing at him with wide eyes. Its whiskers twitched and it opened its mouth to meow something before getting cut off by a loud, panicked meep.

 

Bendy swiftly turned around, watching as the mutt snatched up Snowball, the tiny puffball struggling between his fangs. What! That sunblazing witch’s cat was only distracting him so-

 

There was a sudden, furious screech, and a black blur zoomed past Bendy’s feet, making him jump. The black cat leaped upwards and slammed into the wolf’s head, forcing it to open its jaws and drop Snowball. The dandehog scrambled away, tumbling over her own paws and twisted, mucked-up bristles. She got a few paces away before stopping, looking absolutely exhausted.

 

The cat landed in front of her, hissing, fur fluffed out to make himself appear bigger. His back was arched and his eyes narrowed. His claws were out, no hesitance. Blood glistened on them and the side of his mouth. Glancing at the wolf, it had been clawed right on the side of its face, scratches deep and oozing blood quickly. It’s left ear had been bitten too, with tiny little bite marks that had small droplets of blood.

 

The wolf stared at the cat with what Bendy would describe as… surprise? Since when were animals so expressive? He  _ had  _ to be hallucinating. Then, the wolf’s expression turned into one of rage, lips pulled back to reveal fangs and ears pressed against his skull. It barked angrily at the cat. The cat let out a low growl in response, backing up closer to Snowball. Clearly they had had some kind of disagreement.

 

Well, whatever it was, he could use this as an opportunity to grab Snowball and run…

 

The cat hissed at the wolf as it stepped closer, tail raised and eyes glittering with defiance. The wolf growled threateningly, commanding, blood dripping down the side of its face and staining its fur. Bendy slowly inched closer to Snowball, skirting a wide berth around the two aggressive animals. The cat snarled at the wolf as it continued to step closer, ignoring the feline’s warnings. Eventually, the wolf got to close and the cat launched himself forward, barreling into the canine. Its claws sliced down the sides of the mutt’s shoulders as the cat dodged out of the way of the wolf’s powerful jaws. The wolf caught the tip of the cat’s tail in his mouth and yanked backwards, kicking out with his paw and knocking the cat over. He pounced onto the cat and wrapped its fangs around the small cat’s throat and shoulders. The cat screamed and clawed at the wolf’s face, kicking out with his hindlegs like a rabbit, hitting the mutt repeatedly in the chest.

 

Bendy gently picked Snowball up and smoothed out a few of her bristles. Casting a quick glance towards the cat versus dog fight happening, he turned and bolted back to the others.

 

\------------

 

Felix hadn’t expected the toons to just up and go to the castle so quickly. He and the dire wolf had been walking to the house that very moment when they had appeared, slinking between the shadows. Immediately, they had retreated and watched, curiously, as Bendy left the group and approached the castle. Of course, when he got too close, the fire tiger, now the guardian of the castle alongside the giant eagle, appeared and attacked him. Felix had thought the dire wolf had just wanted to watch, but when Bendy had gotten close to them, something in his doggish eyes had lightened up and he had suddenly lunged forward, knocking Bendy away from the others. Poor little Snowball was sent flying into the sky.

 

Who was he supposed to fight for in this scenario? Bendy, who he wanted to defend? Or the dire wolf, the one who… well, Felix didn’t know. He had opted for doing nothing until Bendy had knocked the dire wolf down and had a murderous glint in his glowing red eyes. Suddenly, Felix was flinging himself at Bendy to protect the wolf. Still, he couldn’t  _ harm  _ Bendy.

 

He glanced at his claws uneasily as he stood in front of the wolf. These claws had dug into Finley’s flesh while he begged for him to live. Then, they had given the dire wolf a light scratch when he had picked up the bug-kitten. How much more blood would he draw? He didn’t want to draw Bendy’s blood. He just… couldn’t.

 

“You cussing witch’s cat.” The words seared into Felix’s pelt. Of all the insults he had been called in his life… Somehow that one was the worst one. Because he  _ was  _ the witch’s cat. Holly’s little pet, one of her creatures. But he didn’t  _ want  _ to be. ...Did he?

 

“Come back with your nine lives just to taunt me?” The demon sneered at him. Felix flinched, taking a step backwards and ducking his head to the side.  _ ‘He said he took care of it, but it’s  _ back. _ ’  _ Sammy’s words come back hauntingly to Felix, the ones he had said before the panther attacked him. The ones that told him he could get injured and beaten and nearly killed and Holly would heal him back up and send him out again. The ones that told him the others wouldn’t get that leisure. Like Finley. Like that innocent skunk toon.

 

“What? Witch’s cat feeling a little guilty about causing the death of an innocent?” What-? Felix jerked his head up, surprised. He could tell? But, how? He hadn’t been purposely trying to make himself, a simple cat, appear to look guilty, so why did-

 

There was a startled, familiar meep that reached Felix’s ears and immediately washed away all previous thoughts. His gaze turned to stare at the dire wolf as he snapped his jaws around Snowball, who meeped desperately for help.

 

_ ‘-meowing in helpless distress.’ _

 

Suddenly, Felix found himself bolting forward, his body moving faster than he thought it could, ignoring how the pads of his paws were cut and pricked by the sharp bits of pebbles and rocks. He slammed into the dire wolf’s head, digging his claws into what he could as he bit down hard into the canine’s ear. Bubbles of twisted satisfaction rose inside him as he felt his claws sink into flesh, blood washing hotly over his claws, dripping from the deep, long wounds he had inflicted.

 

The dire wolf yelped and tossed him off. He landed on all fours and immediately darted to stand protectively in front of Snowball, hissing at the wolf, warning him-  _ daring  _ him to come closer and see what happens.

 

He couldn’t cussing believe it! Holly had ordered the starfallen mutt to steal-  _ kidnap-  _ Snowball when Felix had refused! Stardust!

 

The dire wolf stared numbly at him, mouth slightly hanging open, tail drooping in shock. He hadn’t expected Felix to attack him,  _ at all.  _ Least of all with such ferocity.

 

_ ‘Well, get used to it, dog, because if you  _ dare  _ come closer…’  _ His tail lashed out, a low hiss leaving his throat. The wolf stared at him for a second longer before his eyes darkened, and he pulled his lips back, taking a step forward. He barked out to Felix, trying to order him to step away. Felix stepped closer to Snowball, growling out a threat.

 

_ ‘Cussing try it, you extinct breed of mutt.’  _ Felix curled his claws into the ground in anticipation. The dire wolf raised his tail and stepped forward again, growling his own warning.

 

_ ‘What’s the worst you can do?’  _ Felix thought defiantly. The wolf took another step closer… then another… and another… and  _ he was really pushing it. _

 

Felix let out a guttural screech and launched himself at the dire wolf as he got too close for comfort. He raked his claws down the side of the wolf’s shoulders while the wolf grabbed his tail and smacked him with his paw, knocking Felix off his paws. Felix rolled to the side as the wolf lunged forward, snapping his fangs around his throat.

 

_ ‘His heart beat rapidly, enough that Felix swore he could feel his whole body tremor in tune with his heartbeats. The canine had the power to end him right now- one swift turn of his head, and Felix’s fragile tiny cat neck would snap.’ _

 

Felix screamed in defiance, pure anger swimming through him. He clawed at the wolf’s face rapidly, not caring what he hit, just wanting to hit  _ something _ . Just enough to cause him some real pain- just enough to…

 

The dire wolf pulled back away from Felix, licking the blood away from his maw. Felix shot up onto his paws and hissed, arching his back.  _ ‘Try it again, dire, see what happens.’  _ He lashed out at the wolf, making him back away as he eyed the cat warily, eyes full of malice. The wolf glanced to the side and Felix followed his gaze.

 

Snowball was gone?

 

Felix blinked, fur smoothing. He glanced around, confused, until his eyes caught on Bendy’s tail disappearing around a corner. Bendy must have taken her. Part of him wanted to follow but… but, he knew that a bloodied witch’s cat would earn him no favors.

 

He turned to face the dire wolf, who stared right back at him, cold and calculating. They said nothing to each other, just glared at one another’s blood soaked bodies and the swaying of their tails.

 

There was a tugging in Felix’s chest that made him lose focus for a brief second. He turned his head in unison with the dire wolf to the side, their ears pricked. His cog tag glowed lightly. Felix and the dire wolf shared a glance before the dire wolf trotted away, as if his wounds weren’t even bothering him. Felix practically rolled his eyes and limped after him. One of his claws had twisted and his back leg muscles had been pulled.

 

They walked through the dark and crumbling alleys until they reached a glowing Switch rune and both stepped up to touch it, the dire wolf with his nose and Felix with his paw. They appeared in the oh-so-familiar castle, right in front of one of Holly’s main rooms. This one happened to be the same one that she had created the bugcat in.

 

Upon entering, Holly wasted no time in yelling at them. One look at their bloodied fur and she knew what had happened.

 

“It’s a waste of my magic to heal you both for fighting  _ each other!”  _ She snarled at them, black eyes harsh and rageful. “Really! And I thought animals would be better than toons because you don’t have any ridiculous grudges but apparently not!”

 

The dire wolf ducked his head like a scolded puppy, whining slightly, ears low. Felix just fidgeted awkwardly, staring at his paws.

 

Holly glared at Felix. “And  _ you!  _ Don’t  _ ever  _ interfere with my plans. When I send someone else to a job that you  _ refused  _ to, you should feel thankful I didn’t torture you until you broke.” The cog glowed fiercely and menacingly behind her as she stood towering over them.

 

He didn’t respond, staring at the shining blood across his claws. He didn’t feel guilty or shameful like the dire wolf. He didn’t regret what he did. He’d do it again in a heartbeat.

 

Holly narrowed her eyes at him, studying him. Then, she cleared her throat. “Dire wolf, my sweet puppy… Punish him.”

 

Fear shot through Felix, making him leap to his paws. He bolted away as quick as he could, but his starfallen wounds slowed him down, making him limp and wobble. The dire wolf snarled and chased after him.

 

Cussing- no, not again- he hated when-  _ it hurt so much. _

 

Not this time. He would get away. He turned and leaned backwards, his haunches wiggling before he leaped over the dire wolf. He landed on the wolf’s back before dashing off, running towards the open door. If he could just get out then Holly would let the dire wolf chase him, and the dire wolf would get tired eventually and he’d get out with minimal bite marks to the rump, but if-

 

Glowing, golden runes suddenly appeared, malicious and in his face. Vines shot out from them and wrapped around his paws, forcing him to a grinding halt. He hissed and struggled against them as the dire wolf approached, practically strutting.

 

He snarled at the wolf. No-

 

Fangs wrapped around his neck.

 

\------------

 

Felix walked disheartenedly through the desolate hallways of the castle, head bowed down. His pawsteps were heavy and careless. His tail dragged on the dirty ground.

 

He slipped into his room-  _ ‘his room,’  _ he thought humorlessly. He brushed passed the food bowl, untouched and still full with old, dry pellets, his name written crudely on the side. He padded under the table, squeezed behind the couch and slinked into the hole where his tiny kitten was curled up, cute little antennae twitching. He gently licked her forehead as she meowed a happy greeting to him. She reached up with a tiny paw and batted his ear, sniffing curiously at the blood that dripped down from it, and then at the bite on his neck, and the wounds maraided across his pelt.

 

“Felix!” Someone called out to him without warning. He jerked upwards, banging his head against the roof of the hole. Holly? What did she want? Hadn’t she done enough to torment him? “You and that little mistake must be hungry.” Huh? “I’ve got some food for you.” More dry cat food, perhaps?

 

He glanced at the bugcat as she fluttered her wings, tilting her head curiously at the voice. She seemed to remember it being connected to the one that kicked her, because she shivered, pressing her head against Felix’s chest for comfort.

 

Felix narrowed his eyes. Why would Holly do anything nice for him and “the mistake”? Hesitantly, he backed out of the hole, the kitten meowing and reaching out for him. He flicked her nose with his tail tip and slipped out from behind the couch. Unfortunately, though her eyes were still closed, she was still a curious and clingy little furball. She mewed and wobbled out of the hole after Felix, following his scent and using her antennae and whiskers to feel her way around.

 

Felix gingerly placed a paw against her back, forcing her to sit down at the edge of the couch. Under his breath, he mumbled, “Sit.” He didn’t want her anywhere near Holly, and this was already close enough. Satisfied that the baby bugcat would listen to his command, he walked out from under the table, frowning at Holly and the dire wolf. His nose twitched curiously at the scent that wafted off of the hot bowl in the girl’s hands. He hadn’t smelt something normal like that in awhile… He didn’t feel particularly hungry, but the scent was like a breath of fresh air… Among all this dampness and dust and grime and blood and sweat and…  _ everything, _ the bowl Holly held was like a rainbow after a heavy rainstorm.

 

She placed the bowl down and he trotted over to it, whiskers twitching. It smelled sort of like chicken, with hints of vegetables. Sure enough, as he peered inside the bowl, there was broccoli and carrots floating in the soup. The meat though… Was that chicken? It didn’t exactly look like it, and the scent was a bit off, but it was the only thing he could think off… He glanced questioningly up at Holly.

 

The cog possessed girl smirked and proudly said, “I hope you enjoy it. We’re going to have a  _ lot  _ of spare ingredients for bunny stew after all.”

 

Felix’s stomach dropped as he was hit by a sudden wave of nausea. He stumbled backwards away from the bowl, hiding under the table and curling up, his tail around his paws as he stared wide-eyed at the bowl.

 

Holly let out a harsh bark of laughter, her black eyes glittering in twisted amusement-  _ twisted satisfaction.  _ She grinned at him before turning around and leaving, waving Felix goodbye. The dire wolf eyed Felix curiously, tilting his head and glancing at the stew before he turned and followed after Holly.

 

There was a long beat of silence as Felix stared numbly at the stew, a bit of disbelief stirring inside him. Then, there was the light pitter-patter of tiny kitten feet as the bugcat slowly approached the rabbit stew, little nose twitching cutely. She blindly sniffed at it, putting her paws on the rim of the bowl and leaning down to sniff at the inside of it. She meowed in interest, tilting her head and glancing back at Felix, as if asking for his approval. He had no response, he couldn’t think, just watch. Her dandelion antennae twitched before she leaned down and lapped up the stew. She jerked back in surprise, little butterfly wings fluttering. She rubbed a paw against her face and sniffed it. Then, she dipped her paw into the stew before lifting it to her face and licking the stew off of her paw.

 

Felix just watched. He just watched.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was going to be a bonus scene this chapter, but I got sidetracked writing an Inky Mystery one-shot that I'll hopefully finish by the end of the week :) But! I am very proud of this chapter. I enjoy how Felix's thoughts are all over the place, and there's so many reference to past hints and foreshadowing. Not just in the obvious ones! I always enjoy subtle mirroring between characters, so you might be able to catch similarities between Bendy and Felix's PoV's (aside from the obvious. I'm talking more thought-wise).
> 
> And we've got some beautiful fanart by [bunnilov3r1738](https://bunnilov3r1738.tumblr.com/)! More Felix and our little bug-kitty~!
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> and here's our evil girl herself, Holly, by [istoleuricecream](https://istoleuricecream.tumblr.com/)! Look at the wonderful detail on that cog!
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> And I'm just going to put this here for fun too, I made a small little sketch animatic of Felix and the bugcat! [Here's the link!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t67r-Wrl-UU)
> 
> Thank you for reading, stay tuned for next chapter, 24: The Glass Breaking, good luck and good writing!


	24. The Glass Breaking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you might have noticed that I didn't post the last two weeks! And, well, there's a lot of reasons and excuses I could list to explain why... I really think it comes down to my usual laziness getting the better of me. Hopefully, once school starts back up for me, I'll get back into a rhythm and stop waiting until the day before a chapter's due to write the entirety of it! While I do enjoy staying up all night to write, it's probably not the best idea XD
> 
> Other than that, hope you enjoy today's chapter following Alice and a hard choice she's gotta make!

**Chapter Twenty-Four: The Glass Breaking**

 

Alice fiddled with her fingers, closing her eyes as she focused. Just… focused. She was in a quiet section of the house, near the front. Well, all of the house was quiet, really, but this area lacked anyone walking around or making small talk. She was alone. And she just had to focus.

 

She felt weighed down, nearly crushed, and every breath was beginning to take effort. She knew without even looking at herself that she looked pale and sickly. She was taking up all of her energy focusing on keeping the barriers up that it was hard for her to think about anything else.

 

The group that went out would be back soon, right? When had they left? An hour ago? Two, three? Alice hadn't been keeping count. She couldn't focus on time. Was it day or night? She honestly didn't remember.

 

She inhaled deeply, steadying herself, before breathing out. She was trying to keep a rhythm, but it was hard. She kept getting sidetracked, disoriented by her exhaustion.

 

Her halo's light flickered like a flashlight that was low on batteries. It bobbed sadly above her head.

 

Another breath. In, and out.

 

She just had to keep going, press on. Let the barriers stay up as long as she could, push it until the last minute. Could she go until tomorrow? She hoped, but she didn't know.

 

There was a sudden clicking of a lock and the creak of a door that was slightly bent out of its frame being pushed open. The sound itself startled Alice, throwing her thoughts all over the place.

 

_ 'Focus, focus, focus! Don't lose concentration. Keep the barriers up.'  _ She told herself repeatedly until she was back in the rhythm.

 

It was hard to focus on multiple things, so it took her awhile to realize it was the group that had come back. Most immediately headed towards the main room, not even noticing Alice as she hid in the corner, breathing softly.

 

Unfortunately for her and her concentration, Bendy, bless his soul, happened to notice her.

 

With a frown, he tilted his head and asked in the utmost concern, "Are you okay, Alice?"

 

It took a moment for the question to load inside her brain. Was she okay? Define 'okay'.

 

She tried to smile, but she couldn't even manage that. "I'm fine for now." She recalled their conversation from earlier, about her telling him when she'd drop the barrier. She cleared her throat, letting the words form in her brain before she let them out. "If I start feeling worse, I'll tell you."

 

He studied her with a worried gleam in his eye. Alice wondered what he saw. How bad did she really look? Was it as obvious as she felt?

 

"You promise?"

 

Hadn't she already done that? Ugh, she couldn't remember. The conversation they had had before he left was hazy. She remembered getting flustered? And angry for some reason… Stars, she was a mess.

 

"Alice?"

 

She jerked back into reality, realizing she hadn't answered his question. "Erm- sorry. I do promise, Bendy."

 

He frowned doubtfully, tail swaying behind him. "Are you sure your fine?"

 

Alice sighed, closing her eyes. No. She wasn't. "I-... I'm a bit… exhausted. But I can go for a little longer."

 

From the dubious, concerned gaze he was giving her, she could guess he wanted to protest further. But, to her luck, he nodded and walked away, trailing after his brother into the main room. Alice, despite herself, found herself following them.

 

She needed to concentrate. But being by herself and repeatedly thinking about keeping the barriers up was giving her a headache that wasn't helping.

 

She stuck to the walls as the group informed the others what had happened. Fire tiger and eagle attacked. The little cat that had stolen her halo was there. Something about a dire wolf giving Bendy the deep bite mark on his shoulder- when had he gotten that? Alice hadn't even noticed it. But it was so prominent, with blood still gushing out of it. She should have seen that, at least. Heavens above, was she really  _ that  _ out of it?

 

She rubbed her eyes as a wave of dizziness hit her, the world shaking and blurring.

 

"There's no pattern to anything Holly does," someone was saying. Male? She thought it might be Mugman.

 

"She's possessed by a cog, did we really expect her to be rational?" ...Boris? Maybe?

 

She really needed to stop trying to focus on who was speaking as well. A sharp pain stabbed at her brain, her headache worsening. She sucked in a breath between her teeth, stumbling backwards and gently leaning against the wall.

 

“We’ve gotta find some sort of weakness, or opening eventually. We just have to keep trying!”

 

“Among all this chaos? We have to try hard enough to keep ourselves safe!”

 

"If we just give up and stop trying, we let her win."

 

"But when we keep trying, we just end up further from where we started. Injured, bruised, beaten… killed, even! And the worse that Holly's had to face is that we stole Alice's halo back. And she'll probably try stealing that again too!"

 

Too much. The world was closing in on her… pain was sparking through her body. A heavy weight was on her chest, suffocating her. Her throat felt clogged with the breaths she was trying to take. The sound around her was utterly deafening as the words of her friends became high-pitched radio static. Were her eyes closed, or could she just not see anymore? There were black spots in her already black vision.

 

Cuss. She needed… to…

 

"Alice?"

 

The single word, her name, spoken softly but with pure concern, suddenly and violently snapped her back into focus. She gasped as her vision returned as blurs, black around the edges. The static in her ears was pushed to the side in favor of listening to the one who said her name. Who…?

 

"Alice, you  _ really  _ don't look okay…" Oh. Bendy. She almost couldn't make him out because the black spots in her vision were blending in with his skin… fur tone.

 

She opened her mouth to respond, but the world around her swayed without warning. Bendy grabbed her arm and pressed his shoulder against her side, keeping her upright.

 

"You aren't okay."

 

"I…" Her voice whispered out with great difficulty. She swallowed before speaking again. "I know. I know." She closed her eyes, breathing deeply, trying to steady herself. Bendy's heartbeat. She could feel it distantly. She focused on its rhythm. "I can't keep the barrier up anymore."

 

The barrier?

 

_ A  _ barrier.

 

She had two barriers up. It would be exhausting to hold up one, but to hold up two was completely draining. She had to drop one, or she'd pass out and drop them both. But which one did she drop? The one protecting her friends, keeping them safe, allowing them to continue fighting Holly knowing they'd have a place to come back to? Or the one containing Holly inside Toon Town so her destruction wouldn't reach any further?

 

Cuss. She needed to put down one. And she knew which one.

 

She took in a deep breath before releasing it, glancing at Bendy as he stared up at her with worry and understanding. She slowly turned her attention to the group. Cala and Boris were sending worried glances her way, but most of the others were focused on needlessly arguing about the pointlessness of it all.

 

She would have stepped forward a bit, cleared her throat loudly perhaps, to get their attention, but she didn't have enough energy. She just spoke as loud as she could.

 

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," she started slowly, waiting for their attention. She took another deep breath. "But… I-I… I h-have to drop the barrier around-d… the house."

 

There was a solemn silence that felt too long to Alice, but that might just have been from her exhaustion and disorientation.

 

"That's okay, dearie," Granny said, waddling forward a bit with a sad smile on her face. "We all knew this was coming soon."

 

"We should have realized you were that drained earlier, so we could have planned ahead," Cala sighed, looking apologetically at Alice.

 

Alice smiled grimly. "I should have mentioned something sooner." She drew in her breath as she closed her eyes, forced smile slipping off of her face. She focused on her magic, and then let the magic holding up the barrier around the house disperse. Immediately she felt like she could breathe easier, and her back straightened as her shoulders rose. Still, though, she felt drained and weak. "It's dropped."

 

"What do we do now?" Wiston murmured quietly, trying to distract himself by petting Fireball's wings.

 

"We can't stay here. Holly will just send her pets to attack us," Bendy responded, tail lashing as he frowned. He was still supporting Alice, and being so close to her, she could easily feel the slight chill in his aura as he spoke. She winced a bit, without thinking, and he cast an apologetic glance up at her before moving away from her slightly.

 

"Well, we better start packing. We've gotta be out of this house as quick as possible," Red stated sternly.

 

There was a hesitance, uncertainty in the air. They were leaving the house? ...It had become a home for all of them, and then had been their only safe spot in all of this hellish Toon Town. How could they leave it? But there was nothing protecting them inside these walls anymore. They  _ had  _ to leave. They had to. They didn't have a choice.

 

T̴͇̺̋͜h̷͕̺͉e̷̢̘̔͊̕y̸̘͛ ̸̨̃̈d̶̡̫͂͛͋i̴͔̎̆̆d̸̥͔̥̐̕n̸̢͎̪̿͛ '̷̥̅̀ẗ̴̫̮̘́ ̴̪̩̉͝h̷͇̲͇͐̆a̴͕̦̍͗v̵̧̹͗̈́ͅȩ̶̗̿ͅ ̷̞̠͕̏̀a̶͈͛̾ ̷̤͈̝͗̾c̶͔͒͒͐ḧ̷̟o̶̱̘̫̾̒̈́ï̸͕̮͌c̷̟̞̈́͐e̷̝̒̇͝ ̵̟̫̈i̴̦̞͍͋ň̶̤ ̶̺̉̅̋ả̵̧̖̐̚ͅn̴͙͍̐ÿ̸̥̗͖͝t̶̛̥̹̬̾̊ĥ̶̟͙͉̎ḯ̸̡̗͔͝n̵̯̹̉̾̃g̶͎͛ͅ ̸͈̈á̵̯̺̲͐n̸͓̺̈y̷̙̽m̵̻̺̅ò̵̯̮r̵̢e̶͈̤̰͑̎̍ ̴̬͉͂͌̇:̵̙̊)̶̠̘͑̔͝ͅ.

 

So they began packing. Dr. Oddswell packed up as much of his ink illness research and folders he could while Red gathered all the pills, extra Joy rune bracelets, and other medicine. Bendy and Boris made sure to grab the doll and securely wrap it up and place it in a bag. Granny, Snow White, Charming and Sneezy all packed a bunch of food into four different large bags. Everyone else packed together bags full of survival tools, blankets, bandages, a flashlight or two, and other necessities.

 

When they actually left the house, stepping outside that door, into the wild and darkness…. Alice felt her heart ache. How could this have happened? How could it have come to this? Why were they unable to stop it? Could they even stop it any more?

 

She walked beside Valentine as she supported Sammy. The cat was still very injured, practically bandaged like a mummy head to toe. Everyone kept very close together, the least injured and exhausted on the outside. They were glancing around with wild eyes, minds filled with paranoid thoughts. None of them felt safe. How could they with danger lurking at every corner?

 

They all tensed in unison as the giant eagle soared above them before flying higher into the dark clouds. The days had just kept getting darker and darker. It was hard to even make out the shape of the clouds anymore, it was a blanket of darkness. The relentless downpour had moved to the edges of the storm, leaving where they currently were dry, yet still cold. Cold and dark. That's all there was anymore.

 

There was a flicker of bright light that caught her eye, and she turned around, the others following suit, wary for any golden runes.

 

There were no runes.

 

Just glowing, burning, flickering fire as it consumed the house-  _ their  _ house, their home. It ate up the fence around the house, burned the garden- Finley's  _ grave.  _ That skunk toon's grave too. She heard the choked cry of the knife guy, the one toon's friend, _ Jackson,  _ she had learned his name was, as he realized his friend's final resting place was being set ablaze.

 

Silhouetted against the harsh, bright and vivid flames was the familiar outline of a large feline. The fire tiger's round ears flicked, and it turned its head around to glance at them, eyes but a black dot from the distance between them.

 

Alice met its gaze, her heart dropping as a lump formed in her throat. Her home… Yes, it wasn't the Upper, yes it wasn't her and Holly's apartment, but it was still  _ her home.  _ And it was just gone. Up in flames.

 

She turned away from it, squeezing her eyes shut forcefully as tears pricked at their corners. Her nose scrunched up and her lip trembled wildly, uncontrollably.

 

"C-come on, w-we need to k-eep-p going-ing," she urged the others past her sniffles. If they stopped, who knows, they might be what the flames consumed next. "W-We can't st-stop. We've g-gotta reach the bar-rie-rier."

 

At least it wasn't so dark anymore.

 

Yet, somehow, it was still cold. So very, very cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you were in Alice's situation, what barrier would you have put down? I think me and my cowardice would have picked the one surrounding the town, so my friends and I could stay safe... But, I guess no ones died yet even though they don't have a home anymore! No deaths this chapter. Yay!
> 
> Thank you for reading, stay tuned for chapter 25: To The Edge, good luck and good writing!


	25. To The Edge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look who finally updated. School's back so I'll finally be in the habit of writing more often again! Yay! Hopefully I'll update next Sunday :) For no have this chapter as an apology to make up for the lack of updates! (also i haven't reread or edited it since i finished writing uh oh i'll have to do that later)
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter!  
> Also, Slight Warning: minor mentions of suicide towards the very end of the chapter.

**Chapter Twenty-Five: To the Edge**

 

Bendy struggled through his breaths as he walked after the group, limping slightly on one of his legs. His brother padded after him, brows furrowed.

 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Boris murmured, ears low against his skull.

 

“Yeah, I’m doing just as bad as everyone else. I’m good enough to keep walking, Boris,” Bendy told his brother, tone sharp. They didn’t need to stop because Bendy was feeling a little tired after an ink attack. He understood that they stopped for him when he  _ had  _ the ink attack- he knew they wouldn’t leave him behind no matter what. But it didn’t stop him from feeling guilty and angry at himself when they nearly got decapitated by that starfallen eagle’s talon when they had paused. That cussing bird was stalking them in the skies, disappearing in the dark clouds only to swoop over them again to remind them they couldn’t stop moving.

 

“Just make sure not to overexert yourself,” Boris said, flicking an ear with a frown. “If you fainted…”

 

“I  _ won’t,  _ Boris,” Bendy snapped at him, glaring. “I know my limits. I’ve dealt with ink attacks before. I’m fine!”

 

The wolf glanced at him, startled at his harsh tone. His ears went back, his tail drooping. Bendy winced, and then sighed.

 

“Sorry, bro,” Bendy mumbled. “I didn’t mean to yell at you… I just… I’ll be okay, alright?”

 

He didn’t mean to get ticked off, but he couldn’t help it. So much was going wrong and he couldn’t do anything. Everything just kept getting worse! Alice was practically a zombie on her feet from holding up the barriers- barrier now, Sammy had a giant scar that went from his ear down to his chest, Mickey was mute, Xedo had burns, everyone was exhausted and bruised, Felix and Cup were missing, and Finley was cussing  _ dead! _

 

The entrity of Toon Town was trashed, filled with the destroyed crumbles of houses and dead corpses of innocents if the skunk toon friend of the knife-loving guy was any indication of the horrors outside their bubble. Former bubble. Since the house, their home, was now burned to the ground. And despite all their efforts to stop this destruction, it had only worsened and Holly continued her reign of darkness. Moonrocks.

 

There was a deep fear rooted inside Bendy now, paranoid for who might fall next. When Sammy had been attacked, he had been so worried he would die just like his friend. When Alice kept pushing her limits with holding the barrier around the house up, he was so afraid she would just collapse from exhaustion, stress and magic strain, and just never wake up. And… and what about Felix and Cup? What if- What if one of them was dead? And Bendy and the others would just never know? ...Or would they find their dead bodies?

 

Bendy wanted to say “No, Felix and Cuphead can survive by themselves just fine!” but, but… It’d been  _ so long.  _ Why had they not at least caught a glimpse of them? Why had Holly not mentioned them? Said anything about hunting them down, killing them, torturing them? What had happened to his idol and friend?

 

The thoughts of worry and fear were endless and persistent. Running around his head like they were in a marathon with no end in sight. It was tiring, wearing grooves in his mind. And his physical body was no better. Covered in scratches, and that cussing mutt’s bite stung like hell. Could he even name where each of his wounds came from? Starfallen unicorns, a fire tiger, a griffin, a gigantic eagle, a spiked armadillo, winged deer, giant snakes, a wolf, a kitty cat- well the cat hadn’t clawed him so far, but that didn’t mean it was good. It was just a coward.

 

..That viciously attacked the wolf when it was on its side? The wolf had attacked the cat once though, so maybe it was revenge?

 

Bendy’s brows furrowed and he frowned.

 

It didn’t matter. The cat was of the Holly’s cussing minions. Did it matter if it got along with its fellow minions?

 

Bendy’s eye caught on movement from the top of a broken building. His eye had been getting stuck on a lot of blurs and shadows around them, the creatures that paused and decided if they were easy prey or not. Most animals saw their big group and decided it wasn’t worth it. Some…

 

He narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the moving shape. Small, in terms of the other creatures he had seen. Feathery… It was a griffin, but a baby one. Huh. That made him pause and blink. A baby creature? They hadn’t seen any before. Was it born in this chaos or before?

 

The baby griffin flapped its weak wings, scrambling away before it popped back up with two other young griffin heads beside it. The three chicks stared at Bendy curiously, even tilting their heads. Bendy watched them with the same fascination they had with him.

 

“Bendy?” Boris murmured, catching his attention. He realized he had fallen behind the group and sped up, stepping into stride beside his brother.

 

And then he heard the familiar wingbeats.

 

He tensed up and whipped around, right as the mother griffin herself came swooping down, talons out-stretched to snatch him up. He ducked out of the way, her claws catching empty air. She screeched and pulled up, curling her wing in and rolling in the air as Mugman immediately fired a shot at her. She soared high into the sky before turning around and diving down for them again. She easily maneuvered around Mugs’s shots, and he seemed too exhausted to aim properly.

 

Red, Charming, Snow White and Granny immediately started herding the more injured toons into the cover of a house that seemed  _ mostly _ intact. Bendy hesitated, wanting to stay and fight off the griffin, but… he was still pretty drained from his ink attack earlier. And there wasn’t much he could do against a flying griffin except punch it.

 

He turned and helped make sure the others got in safely before following them as well while Mugs continued firing at the griffin.

 

To his surprise, he found that he didn’t want the griffin to get hurt. She had children to get back to… Would they die without her? If she couldn’t hunt for them, would they starve? He didn’t want the griffin to harm his friends, or use them as prey, and the run-ins he had with this griffin before had left a bitter taste in his mouth, but…

 

He scowled at his conflicted thoughts. Why couldn’t this just be black and white? The griffin was hunting them, attacking them, and was one of Holly’s pets! Who cared if it had kids? Those chicks would probably be harassing him too at Holly’s command soon!

 

Mugs darted into the house after everyone else was in, ducking down to avoid hitting his head on the crooked frame. The griffin attempted to follow after him, clawing at the frame frustratedly. She growled out vexedly, tail lashing as she pushed against the wooden planks. Bendy didn’t know how long they would stand before they gave way to the bird-lion’s persistent clawing.

 

“How long are we going to have to stay here?” The knife guy mumbled twitchily, eyeing the griffin’s talons and the unstable building structure. His eyes were still puffy from crying, and there were dark bags underneath them. “This place feels like it could collapse at any second.”

 

“The griffin should lose interest eventually,” Valentine responded softly, gazing around the dusty room.

 

“There should be a back door we could take,” Xedo suggested, brush tail waving behind him while his brother stood nervously beside him.

 

Granny sighed, “We need a break. Perhaps we could wait a second here? For my old, frail bones at least?”

 

They all traded wary glances. They did need a break, eventually. But this place just didn’t feel safe enough… Then again, no place  _ would  _ feel safe enough. Not until they got outside the barrier.

 

“We should scope out the building first, just to make sure nothing’s lurking,” Bendy said.

 

“Right,” the others quickly agreed.

 

“I’ll go with Jackson and Valentine,” one of the injured toons, the girl with a mean scar over her face, volunteered. Jackson? Bendy scanned his eyes over the toons he realized he never learned the names of. The knife guy perked up and siddled over to the girl and the vampire. So he must be Jackson then. He should probably ask the others’ their names at some point.

 

Bendy ended up going with Boris, Mugs and Cala while everyone else rested. They walked through the abandoned house, disturbed by the occasional dry blood splatter they’d find here or there, or the torn up furniture they’d find. It all seemed old, but what if something was still here?

 

_ ‘Like a corpse?’  _ Bendy thought. As much as he wanted to rapidly push the thought away, he knew it held some truth. They very well  _ could  _ find a corpse. He just hoped they wouldn’t, for Boris’s sake. For everyone’s sake.

 

They managed to find some intact stairs, although they didn’t think going to the second floor was a good option considering all the holes they had seen in the ceiling above them. And, because they could hear some faint creaking, the sound of weight moving on splintered, old wood. The four of them all tensed up, alert. The tip of Mugs’s pointer finger started glowing a faint blue.

 

Wish as they might that the creaking held a friend, or some weak and timid creature at least, but of course it didn’t, because in the next second a giant lion with scaly wings leaped down from a hole in the ceiling above. Quick as lightning, a coiled, plated tail shot out from behind it, revealing the sharp stinger of a scorpion's tail.

 

Bendy’s eyes widened, panicking as the stinger went straight for Boris. He started moving forward, but, to his surprise, Cala, who was closer than him, was already shoving Boris out of the way.

 

The stinger swung down and stabbed Cala directly in the arm. She managed to muffle her cry, putting one hand on the stinger and pushing away from it. The weird winged lion-scorpion  pulled its tail away, growling at them.

 

“Cala!” Mugs gasped, running forward to support her. He glared at the lion, raising a finger and letting the blue shot fly. There wasn’t much room for the large lion to maneuver around in, so the bullet hit the lion-scorpion head on. It roared out in fury, raising its huge paws to its face as it stumbled backwards.

 

Bendy darted over to his brother, helping the pup stand up. Once Bendy was sure Boris was okay, and Mugs was certain Cala was alright as well, the four ran out of the room with the giant lion-scorpion. Quickly, they made their way back to the rest of the group.

 

Red immediately jumped up, beside Cala’s side in an instance. “What happened?”

 

“Big lion with wings and a, uh, scorpion tail,” Bendy hastily answered. “So, we need to leave.”

 

“Give me a second to clean her wound,” Red stated.

 

The gorgon shook her head. “I’ll be fine. My body will dispel the venom like it did with the basilisk.”

 

Red snorted. “I still need to bandage it.” Granny waddled over with one of their bags that held medical supplies.

 

“We found a hole in the back of the house,” Valentine said. Her group had gotten back before Bendy’s. “We can exit through there.”

 

They all swiftly got back up with a few grumbles about not really being able to rest anywhere, and a couple of hushed whispers that worried for their safety.

 

Jackson helped support Sammy as the cat limped, his muscles sore and injury still tender. Xedo stood on his other side, Mickey and Wiston hovering around the fox. Xedo had adjusted well to his burns, but they still hindered him in some aspects.

 

Boris and Alice stuck close to Bendy, who hung back with Mugs, Cala and Red as Valentine and the girl Bendy still didn't know the name of lead the way.

 

Bendy was vigilantly listening for any noises that would indicate the lion beast was prowling around or that the griffin had managed to break in. He didn't want to be caught off guard and for someone who couldn't expel venom like Cala could to be attacked. But now every little creak and scuttle of rodents' paws made him jump, paranoid.

 

But, his paranoia paid off when he heard the much large creaks of heavy paws on old wood. He paused, trying to pinpoint where it was coming from. Boris stopped beside him, ears raised and swiveling around. Alice got a few steps further before realizing they had stopped. She turned around and tilted her head at them curiously.

 

"The lion's nearby," he hissed out softly. She nodded and quickly got the rest of the group to stop, going on high alert.

 

"We're almost to the exit," Valentine murmured, glancing around and fidgeting nervously. "We can make it before the manticore. They're big, they won't have a lot of room to maneuver."

 

Bendy stared at the vampire girl for a moment. "Manticore?"

 

She flushed a bit. "Uh, the lion. You said it had a scorpion's tail and wings. That fits the description. I've seen a kid dressed up as a manticore before on Halloween."

 

He nodded, pausing a moment to listen to the footsteps of the manticore. It was above them again. "You really think we can make it?"

 

"Maybe," Valentine answered uncertainly. "I don't know. I-I think so. I would be able to. I don't know! I don't make decisions like this!"

 

"I say we go for it," Charming piped up. "We're sitting ducks otherwise."

 

"You're right," Bendy agreed. "Let's go."

 

They all broke back up into their little groups, but remained close together. They picked up the pace, all alert for the manticore. Bendy noticed the hole Valentine had talked about. The wooden planks of the wall were parted, jutting out awkwardly and leaving a slim hole they would go out two or three at a time if they really squeezed.

 

Valentine and one of the toons Bendy didn't know the name of- the bunny girl with the ripped ear- were the first to exit out of it, followed by Xedo, Wiston and Mickey. The girl with the scar on her face nearly made it out- but then the ceiling above started creaking and breaking, the planks falling. She had to dodge out of the wall to avoid getting knocked out by a falling plank.

 

And then, of course, because they had the worst of luck, down came crashing the manticore, along with half of the ceiling.

 

Bendy pushed his brother back while a few others in the group did the same to others. Charming, while pushing Snow White and Sneezy away, got hit by a sharp shard of wood along his arm. Bendy had better luck, only his tail getting caught. It hurt like hell, but with a strong tug he pulled his tail out. Ignoring the throbbing and bleeding of his tail, he rushed over to help Charming, looping the man's arm around his shoulders. The two walked quickly back to the others as they escaped to another room- the one they had originally encountered the manticore in before, in fact. If they had known these two rooms connected, they could have gotten to the exit quicker! Cuss!

 

The manticore chased after them by flying back up a floor and then entering through a hole in the next room. Bendy growled out in frustration as the manticore prowled towards them again. At least Mugman's bullet had uglied up its dumb face.

 

His eyes caught on the stairs. Higher up, but they didn't have much of a choice. He bolted towards the stairs, the others following as the manticore swiped at them, dark claws shiny and sharp.

 

Once on the next level, he noticed how much more open, barren and hole-filled the second floor was. The manticore for up, stretching out its wings with plenty of space to give. It roared, practically vibrating the house.

 

"Up, up, up!" Someone hissed out, indicating the second flight of stairs that lead to the roof.

 

Everyone rushed up the stairs, Sammy tripping as Jackson tried to pull them both away from the scorpion tail that narrowly missed stabbing them.

 

"Sorry!" Jackson yelped, panicking as the tail coiled, getting ready to strike again. "N-Not my sharpest moment!"

 

Mugs fired a shot at the tail, the manticore hissing and pulling his tail back before lunging, fangs gleaming. Bendy left Charming's side, running back down the stairs, passing Jackson. He ducked away from the manticore's claws, sliding over to Sammy's side and pulling him up roughly. They both bolted back up the stairs, covered as Mugs shot at the manticore again.

 

The manticore attempted to chase them onto the roof, but got stuck at the top of the stairs, trying to fit it's large body through. It roared out in vain.

 

They all caught their breath, panting. Bendy walked over to the edge, peering over the building. There was a balcony they could jump down onto, and then a upside-down dumpster. The others who had escaped before the ceiling collapsed had hidden themselves in the shadows of the alleyway. Bendy called out to them.

 

They turned to look at him, expressions relieved and joyous. Then Mickey's turned to horror and he pointed at something behind him.

 

Bendy quickly whipped around, heart pounding for whatever the mute mouse had been afraid of. There was a blur of wings as the griffin unexpectedly swooped down, her talons outstretched. Her claws wrapped around someone and it took Bendy a moment to recognize who. The guy who liked knives. The one who had mourned over the skunk toon, Raine. Jackson.

 

There was a moment of conflict inside his head. Try to save him? Or leave him to his own fate? Of course, he should save him, but how  _ would  _ he? The griffin had already snatched him up and was flying away. And it wasn't like Bendy really knew the guy. His dea-  _ disappearance  _ wouldn't bother Bendy as much as Finley's, or Felix and Cup's. And he needed to get the others to safety before the manticore escaped.

 

Fortunately, he didn't need to make a choice, as Mugs's glowing finger had already went off, bullet heading straight towards the griffin. The griffin twirled out of the way, her grip of Jackson slipping, and the man was sent falling down, scream piercing the air.

 

Mugs looked horrified, as though he had not expected the griffin to drop him. Lack of sleep could create a lapse of judgement, after all.

 

Bendy grit his teeth, and then distracted the others by instructing them to jump down to the balcony.

 

He tried not to think about it.

 

\------------

 

This was it, this was the end. To be eaten by some giant bird-cat thing. What a way to go. His ending was finally near, no hope in sight. Tears started flowing down his cheeks. First Raine, now him. Would the K’s be okay? Were they even still alive too? Probably not. If Raine had died, they stood no chance. She was always the best out of their group.

 

He clung onto the talon of the griffin, not daring to look down below. He had always been afraid of heights.

 

The lion-bird suddenly jerked right as a flash of blue shot past them, making Jackson squeak in surprised terror. He felt the wet, muddy talons slip away from him, giving him a brief sense of hope that he wouldn’t be the lion-bird’s meal-

 

And then he looked down, and a whole new sense of fear overwhelmed him, forcing the loudest scream he had ever shrieked in his life out of his throat. He was  _ falling!  _ That was worse than heights!  _ He was gonna die! Splat on the ground! _

 

“No, no, no!” He cried out fruitlessly. He snapped his eyes shut forcefully, feeling the pressure of the air around him as he neared the broken building the lion-bird had been flying above. He was gonna crash through a building as well! He couldn’t even imagine how  _ agonizingly painful  _ that was going to be!

 

And he didn’t have to. Because in the next instance he was smashed against the roof, right on the edge of a hole with sharp metal beams that clawed up his side as he was sent tumbling down. He slammed onto the next level, startling some animal of sorts that bolted away as the wooden floor snapped and swayed. Jackson couldn’t even suck in a breath, desperately gasping for air and clawing out for the wooden boards. The weight of his body dragged him down, cutting the palm of his hand roughly on a wooden shard.

 

He landed with a loud thud onto the ground, vision black and lungs without air. For a moment, he thought he was dead, but then he was suddenly gasping in air, coughing over his over breaths and choking on his saliva. He pulled his arm up to his chest, shivering and quaking. Tingles of sharp pain rain throughout his arm. Cuss. Was it broken? He couldn’t move his legs either. He could see blood pooling around him from the various cuts scattered across his body.

 

He let out a groan, shutting his eyes and laying his head down. There was no way he’d survive. He would bleed to death now. What a horrible way to go. He was half tempted to grab one of the knives he had safely sheathed on his belt and just… end it. But he didn’t think he’d be able to even grab the knife with his arm, nor have enough strength or will to stab his neck… Would stabbing his neck even kill him, or just worsen the torture? He didn’t know…

 

He heard the sound of a foot gliding across the floor and the tiny pitter-patter of something small. His eyes snapped open, heart beating. Had some monster smelled his blood and come to devour him? ...He hoped that was the case, even though he was instinctively fearful.

 

His eyes widened as a familiar girl stared him down, knife pointed towards him, with a little black and white kitty at her feet, fur fluffed up… well, the places that had fur. Some patches were burned. The girl’s eyes narrowed in a way Jackson had never seen them before, full of suspicion and hatred. Was that really the same girl he knew…?

 

“Kia?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to get a little break from the main group, hmm? Why don't we learn what else has been happening all around Toon Town? Also! I'll make a bigger note of this next chapter, but Kia's backstory and friends are completely MADE-UP since we don't have anything for her in Inky Mystery/Extras and probably won't! She has only been in one chapter total, after all (as of me posting this)!
> 
> Thank you for reading, stay tuned for next chapter: November Fourth, good luck and good writing!


	26. November Fourth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! An on-time chapter! Yay me! And this chapter starts what's going to give you some insight into what some of the chaos has been around Toon Town.
> 
> And! Just as a sort of disclaimer thing- everything about Kia is NOT CANON to the actual Inky Mystery story! Since she is (currently) a minor character in only one chapter of Inky Extras, I decided to take some creative liberty and make up some backstory for her. Just to give her some more spice, you know?
> 
> Other than that, hope you enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty-Six: November Fourth**

Kia brightly skipped through the familiar halls of Yen Sid University. A cheery smile was plastered on her face as she breathed in the cold, brisk air of dusk that filtered through the open windows. Not many students were out and about this night. The pleasant November chill discouraged any adventurers from running around outside and most were tuckered out from a hard day's work of learning and studying. Everyone was ready for the weekend to come.

But Kia? Oh, Kia would keep studying through the weekend. It was practically her favorite thing to do. She loved studying. The feel of the book's pages, the satisfaction of remembering something she studied so hard to remember, the joy and fascination of learning something new, of discovering a world beyond… But, most importantly, the pride she felt in proving herself worthy, intelligent, of showing the world how great she could be. She was aiming sky-high.

Well, okay, maybe not  _ sky-high, _ but pretty high up there. Like, maybe mountain-high? That sounded more do-able… But then again, some mountains go above the clouds, so maybe not that high… Maybe just a really big tree-high? Sequoias were pretty big, right? So she'd aim sequoia-high.

...That sounded stupid.

Kia let out a sigh at her own thoughts, gently closing her eyes and letting her feet guide her. To have such big ambitions, yet to be so anxious all the time… She was caught between an endless cycle of wanting to prove herself the best, prove that she could do it, that she could be better, that she  _ was  _ better, and wanting to just melt into a puddle and dissolve away from awkward situations. Like that one time she raised her hand and got a question wrong when she had been  _ so sure  _ she was right… and then she had argued with her 6th grade teacher on it, and when she had been proven wrong… she felt like an absolute idiot.

It was an oddly specific moment from a long time ago to remember, but that was one of the first times she had learned humility. Sure, there were a few moments here and there where she did something idiotic or foolish, but most of her childhood days were spent living in a cocky, haughty air, thinking she was all-that for being one of the smartest kids in school… Thinking she was really proving that girls were the top-dogs when really she was just being a typical mean girl.

She winced slightly at the thought of her bullying days. She hated bullies. She didn't want to be anything like them, although she always found herself falling into her old habits. She really needed to stop believing rumors and gossip so easily, and judging people based upon those hearsays.

She exhaled sharply through her nose, pushing those thoughts out of her mind. Thinking about her past mistakes was not what she was here to do. She was at Yen Sid University to learn and grow as a person. And already she had grown a lot.

"Yo, Kia!" A chipper voice called out to her. She grinned brightly and turned to face the speaker as he bolted towards her from the end of the hall.

"You better not be running with knives again, Jackie," Kia called out, waiting for the young man to catch up with her.

The boy rolled his eyes as he stepped into stride with her slowing down. He ran a hand through his ruffled, messy short hair. "Hey, I got them all confiscated last week 'cause Katie poked herself with one. You know that."

"Don't you still have butter knives in your kitchen?"

"Well, yes, but those are Landon's!"

"Anything your roommate owns automatically becomes yours," Kia said, raising a brow. "It's  _ you.  _ You've stolen- sorry,  _ borrowed-  _ like twenty things from me already. Including a knife." The two of them turned a corner into the library.

"Hey! I gave you that in back!"

"Yes, but then you asked for it again."

"Well-"

"Hey! Bickering idiots, you gonna keep arguing, or are you humans gonna come study with us?" A sharp voice with a slight French accent cut in. The two of them turned as their friend Kristy Aristo Kat waved them over to the table she and their other friend, a slim skunk toon with white stripes that swirled beautifully along her fur. Kristy herself was a cat toon with soft, light fur with darker points. Her father was a burmese and her mother a ragdoll, and she prided herself on the beautiful traits both breeds had.

"You nearly passed us," the skunk girl said, smiling. "Your eyesight is getting duller, Jacks."

He rolled his eyes, but grinned and giggled in response. "I'll get sharper eventually!"

Kristy let out an exaggerated groan. "Seriously, guys? There's only so many knife puns you can go through until they get repetitive."

"That's what makes them all the more fun!" The two chirped together before breaking into a fit of giggles that Kia couldn't help but join in. She took a seat at the table.

"You should have said until they get dull!" Jack piped up over his chuckles.

"Raine literally just used that one!" Kristy argued humorously.

Eventually, the random, infectious laughter subsided, and they all calmed down. Kristy pulled out her notes, Kia her textbooks, and Raine and Jackson pulled out their homework that they had been procrastinating.

"Ah, the K's, always so ahead," Jackson sighed when Kristy berated him and Raine for not having their work done. He seemed to strain himself for a moment, searching for a word. "So  _ studious." _

"Did you hurt yourself thinking of that one?" Raine smiled, nudging his shoulder. He shoved her in response.

"I swear, I heard that 's' sound, and I thought you were going to say  _ 'so sharp'  _ and I was ready to punch you," Kristy huffed.

Kia opened her mouth to add her own silly contribution to the conversation, but then she heard a sudden thundering noise from above. She paused, as did the others, and they all glanced above. Was the roof shaking? What was that noise?

Kia swallowed, nervous, and glanced around. The few others who were out and about had stopped, turning their attention above. Someone who Kia knew because he was in one of her classes walked over to a window, peering outside.

"Is it darker than normal, or is it just me?" The guy murmured.

Kristy got up and checked out the window too, frowning. "There's storm clouds. I didn't think there was supposed to be rain today?"

Kia, Raine and Jackson traded wary glances before walking over to their friend. She was right, there were storm clouds swirling in the sky. The closer Kia peered, the more she saw. What looked like the silhouettes of witches on brooms soared around. People- no monsters, for no toon had fangs like that or carried an axe that large- were chasing other people through the streets. What was going on?

What appeared to be vines suddenly erupted around the school, heading straight towards the library, curling around like snakes. They seemed to be dragging things towards the library, too. Kia's heart pounded. They were near the library! What if the vines went for them next?

Kia paled, backing up, grabbing Jackson and Kristy's arms. "We have to go!"

"What  _ is  _ that?" Jackson was frozen, jaw slacked as he stared.

"What's happening? What's going on?" People called out from all around, tones perplexed and frightened.

"I don't know, but I don't want to be caught up in it!" Kia replied to her friend.

"We have to get somewhere safe!" Kristy said, normally well-groomed tail fluffed up in panic.

"But where?" Jackson panicked.

"The dorms?" Raine suggested. The others quickly agreed and they immediately took off, abandoning their homework and supplies. They were cut short as a dog of some sort suddenly flew past them, abnormally large fangs bared as a vine chased after it. It jumped in front of Kia, forcing her to a stop.

A thin vine wrapped around her ankle, making her scream. The dog barked at her before taking off.

"Kia!" Her friends called out, Raine grabbing onto her hand and trying to tug her away from the vine. Jackson stared, jaw slack and open, eyes wide. Then he snapped into focus and shoved a hand into his pocket, pulling out a key. He pressed the side of the key and a blade popped out. A switchblade knife disguised as a key? Of course Jackson would have that.

He kneeled down and grabbed the vine, cutting at it vigorously. Kia held her breath, limbs trembling as the vine continued to try and drag her away. Jackson's knife finally cut through the vine, and Kia jerked her foot away as the vine collapsed to the ground. The rest of the vine still wriggled and reached for them.

Kia scrambled over to Kristy. The cat gave her a quick hug, squeezing her before grabbing her hand and running down the hallway, Raine and Jackson on their heels. They could hear panicked shouting from other students and staff, along with the shrieking caw of a giant bird circling the college.

They reached Jackson's dorm first, all of them ducking inside right as a big snake appeared, slithering through the hallways. It's tongue flickered out, tracking them. It turned its glazed eyes to them with a hiss.

Jackson slammed the door shut, turning the lock. Raine immediately started pushing a shelf towards the door, Kia helping her. Kristy ran over to a desk and picked it up while Jackson darted into the kitchen, the noise of him furiously opening a cabin and then rummaging through silverware clearly heard.

As they pushed the shelf in front of the door and Kristy placed the desk there too, piling random books and objects on top, Jackson reappeared, holding as many knives as he could, most butter knives. He shoved a few into the girls' hands.

Kia gripped her hand tightly around the handle of the knife, breathing shakily. Could she really use a knife? She never had before. Was it easy? Not even Jackson, who  _ loved  _ knives,  _ stabbed  _ things. Not living things at least. He valued life, and Kia did too.

There was a loud slam at the door that shook the shelf. The four students jumped and whipped around, knives raised warily. Kia sucked in a deep breath, still tense as nothing more happened.

She didn't want to use the knife, but she might very well have too.

 

**Bonus Scene: Oswald’s Hunger**

 

The rabbit trudged down the damp, rocky caves, his feet long ago numbed to the pebbles stabbing them. They were cold, frozen, from the murky puddles that had slowly formed over the years before he had been there. Little spiders crawled all around, tiny legs climbing up the stalactites and stalagmites. Some of the arachnids even walked all over him.

 

He was used to them, the only other living things in this cavernous cave. Maybe, if he had gone crazy, he would even consider them friends. But he still held onto his sanity, for what it was worth.

 

His ears twitched as a spider tried to crawl inside. He had not the energy to pick it out, but the spider picked up on the minor agitation from his ear flick and moved on, crawling through his black fur. 

 

He could eat the spiders, yes. He had before. But no matter how many of the tiny bugs he consumed, his hunger could not be satisfied. His thirst could be quenched for a moment from the puddles, but the grit and dirt would scrap at his throat and choke him. His throat was ablaze with pain that made his very breaths raspy and torturous.

 

He had been through so much, been in so many adventures, and yet…. Now he wandered, starving, through caves full of spiders, with not a clue how he got there.

 

Adventures…. His heart clenched deep inside his chest with longing and worry. His brother, Mickey, and his friends, Goofy, Donald…. Everyone at the circus. His kids, the lovable little bunnies… Ace, Tammy, Lucy, Frilly… all four hundred and twenty of them…

 

Oh, he missed them all… Were they okay? Were they worried for him, wondering where he was? Did they think he would make it back to them? He wanted to, of course he did- why wouldn't he? But he just didn't  _ know _ if he  _ could  _  make it back to them. He had been here for what, a week? Maybe two? Time felt long when all you had to focus on was the neverending, growling pit in your stomach that made you want to curl up and die.

 

Which is what he would be doing soon if he didn't find anything to eat.

 

He would die…. Just like Ortensia had…

 

Besides thinking about his wonderful children, he couldn't stop thinking about his wife. He was torn between wanting to get back to his children, and wanting to join Ortensia. To be with her once more, in whatever afterlife there was.

 

But did he really accept his death so quickly? To leave his children, his brother, his sister, his friends, his family, all behind?

 

The agonizing pain of his hollow stomach and his worn mind was too much. He let out a rasping cough, an action that felt far more than just uncomfortable with an empty stomach. He groaned, feet suddenly slipping as he collapsed onto a rock.

 

The hunger… The endless cycle of worry and conflict… It was all… too much.

 

His breathing hiccuped, stuttering over the breaths like his fading heartbeat skipped beats. A spider crawled into his nose, staring into his eyes as his vision began to blur. His eyelids drooped until his vision went blacker than night. He sucked in another desperate breath of air.

 

The hunger…

 

Was too much…

 

To bare...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since these chapters are going to be a little bit shorter, I threw in a bonus scene! :) One of the most shorter bonus scenes, but it is a bonus scene none the less ^^ Hope you liked it!
> 
> And here's a fun fact, originally "knife guy" Jackson wasn't really that important-- when I first mentioned him, it was because i was bored and needed a little filler. Then, I realized that I was going to end up with a very limited cast of characters since some will die/disappear, and the rest are locked out of Toon Town. So, he accidentally became used more often, which then result in Kristy and Raine being created, and then Kia wormed her way into it all and... Well, it's just weird how things worked out like that ^^`
> 
> Thank you for reading, stay tuned for next chapter, 27: A Deadly Chase and Unexpected Heights, good luck and good writing!


	27. A Deadly Chase and Unexpected Heights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaah, it really does feel good to have chapters posted on time XD This chapter we continue following Kia and her friends! Let's see what happens, shall we? :3
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: A Deadly Chase and Unexpected Heights**

 

The scraping at the door was driving all of them nuts. The incessant worry that whatever was outside was going to break in. It didn't help that something already  _ had  _ broken in, a big mole of some sort that Raine had kicked in the face. They had shoved more furniture against the door.

 

But the door wasn't the only thing they had to worry about. Jackson's dorm was one with a window, and when the vines had started thumping against the glass, Kristy had scrambled to find some duct tape while Kia and Jackson made sure the window didn't break or crack. There wasn't much they could do about the window- eventually, the vines would crack it into shards. They were already using the shelf to block the door, and they had nothing else high enough to block the window with.

 

They were trapped, and they were beginning to realize that that was not a good thing.

 

"What if something breaks in? We won't have anywhere to go," Jackson whimpered, glancing at the window and then the door with wide eyes. "The vines are going to break the window."

 

"And duct tape isn't going to help," Raine grumbled under her breath as Kristy frantically ran around looking for some.

 

"Well, I'm  _ sorry _ I don't know anything else that can do anything!" The Siamese-Ragdoll mix called back, shoving things around in the kitchen where there definitely wouldn't be any duct tape. Then again, Jackson and his roommate Landon weren't very organized.

 

Kia fiddled with the knife in her hand, tossing it back and forth. What could they do? If the vines broke through, it wasn't like they could cut them all down. The vines would be too thick and the knives too dull and inexperienced in their hands. And if something broke through the door, they had to pray it would be something small and weak enough to kick away like the mole.

 

Kia wished she could think of something, but no class she had taken could have ever prepared her for this. Her father may have loved the wilderness, but he had been too busy with his jobs to teach her much past hiking and climbing trees.

 

She shut her eyes, wishing she could block out the horrible scraping at the door. It was like nails on a chalkboard, so painful to her ears.

 

She felt Jackson stumble over his feet beside her. She opened her eyes and stared at the glass window. The cracks only grew longer as the vines pressed up against them. A shard of glass tumbled to the floor, one of the thorns of the vine poking through. The rest was about to come through as the glass began to shatter under the pressure.

 

Kristy dipped her head out of the kitchen just in time to see the glass shatter with loud snaps and cracks, the bulge of the vines piling in. Her eyes widened, hands tightening around the knife and random can of spray in her hand. She jumped backwards, tail fluffed out. She dropped the knife and the can, screaming.

 

Kia was suddenly reminded of the time she and one of her middle school friends had been messing around with a lighter and a spray can, trying to make the biggest flame they could. When the flame had nearly burned her friend's fur off, she had screamed just like Kristy and dropped everything.

 

The spray can.

 

Kia quickly ran over to the dropped can, grabbing it and shaking it to make sure it was empty. It wasn't so she quickly twisted off the lid and dumped out the contents.

 

"Kia! What are you doing?" Jackson asked, running away from the vines and over to Raine before they could even begin to reach out for him.

 

"A lighter! I need a lighter!" She ordered Kristy. The cat stared at her dumbly before bolting away, scrambling around to find one. 

 

"Are you gonna light this place on fire? Kia, you crazy!?" Raine shouted out to her.

 

"I'm gonna light the vines on fire!" Kia called back.

 

"And you're gonna take the dorm with you! This whole place is flammable!" Raine argued.

 

"Then get some water!"

 

Raine and Jackson traded looks before they both ran past the vines and Kia, going into the kitchen and turning on all the sinks. They quickly started filling up pots and pans with water.

 

Kristy appeared and handed Kia a lighter. "There's no way this is going to work. We're going to burn ourselves."

 

"Well it's that or get eaten by whatever's outside the door," Kia said. She flicked the lighter open, testing it out to make sure it worked. A few tiny flames flickered into life. She held the spray can behind the fire and then pressed down, sending air into the fire, fanning the flames. The fire shot out, bigger than Kia thought it would be. It caught on the vines, but also the couch and the carpet and the wooden walls.

 

"Oh cuss!" Kia hissed out, to her surprise. She didn't often use strong language of any kind. "Guys, water! Water!"

 

Kristy grabbed a pot full of water, but underestimated its weight and immediately dropped it. The water didn't drench more than a pinky finger of the fire. Raine and Jackson, with his thin, gangly arms, managed to do better, pouring as much water as they could onto the fire.

 

The scraping at the door was suddenly followed by a loud bang. The furniture in front of the door was pushed away, some into the fire, fueling it further. A giant centipede-like creature crawled over what hadn't been burned, roaring out at them.

 

Kristy and Jackson both screamed while Kia and Raine stared in horror. Raine was the quickest to snap back into focus. She pointed at the broken window.

 

"Look! We've got a clear path. Let's not waste it!"

 

The skunk toon was right, they had managed to clear away some of the fire, giving them a pathway straight to the window. But it wouldn't be there for long. The fire was hungry, and would soon consume the entire room.

 

Kristy was the first to run to the window, holding her tail as far as she could from the fire. Kia and Jackson closely followed her, with Raine throwing a book at the centipede before following. Kristy easily threw herself over the window, placing her paw on the frame where the glass shards weren't. She had taken acrobatics when she was younger, so it was easy for her.

 

Jackson and Kia, though, struggled. Jackson stared at the sharp shards fearfully, hesitating. Kia didn't even know if she could jump out of the window. Climbing trees only ever got her so far.

 

"Pegasus feathers," Raine cursed behind them, grabbing a burning stick and tossing it at the large, crawling centipede. She turned to Kia and Jackson. "Just jump! It's either the shards or the fire!"

 

Kia managed to work up enough courage to grab onto the window's frame, where Kristy had gripped it, and yanked herself up, keeping her legs in close to avoid the glass. She stumbled as her body went through to the outside. One foot touched the ground, but the other missed and she fell downwards onto the burned coils of vines. Kristy was quick to help Kia up onto her feet, asking if she was okay.

 

"I-I can't!" Jackson was saying, trembling.

 

"Yes you  _ can!"  _ Raine grabbed him, lifting him up bridal style. She marched over to the window and tossed him through. The man yelped and thudded to the ground outside.

 

Raine took a step back, tensing her body as she examined the window. She was bigger than Kia, Kristy and Jackson. She took a deep breath before she leapt through the window. Unluckily for her, one of her legs scraped up against the side of the window, a shard of glass piercing her leg. She landed on the other side of the window with a wobble, somehow managing to stay on her feet. Kristy and Kia steadied her.

 

"Y-Your leg!" Kia gasped. Blood had already started to coat the leg of her pants.

 

Raine let out a soft hiss. "It's fine. I'll be fine. For now, we have to worry about getting away from  _ that  _ thing." She pointed behind herself, at the centipede as it roared at the flames, skirting around them as it rapidly approached the window to follow them out.

 

"But you can't run!" Jackson said, rubbing the dust and ash away from his face.

 

"Can't run?" Raine 'tch'ed. "I've run miles with a broken leg. I'm the only one out of us that actually goes to the gym every day. I have the best chance of surviving." Her eyes narrowed. "Not that any of us our gonna fall to bugface. C'mon, let's go!" She shoved Kia forward. She nearly tripped over her own legs, but Kia manage to stay upright. She grabbed Raine's arm and ran with her, Jackson and Kristy on her other side.

 

The centipede crawled out of the broken window, snarling, it's weird pinchers clicking. Kia had thought some bugs could be cute, but now, she knew she would never look at any insects the same way again.

 

Toon Town had been trashed with monsters everywhere and dark storm clouds above. The vines had crumbled and died, but by what, Kia didn't know. Stars, going outside didn't seem much better than staying in the dorm room. At least she and her friends hadn't been burned to a crisp… by the fire she herself had started, to kill the vines that were now dead by something else…

 

No time for reflection on bad and desperate mistakes! Now, she had to focus on running, least the centipede catch her and eat her. She had never run so fast in her life, but she guessed being chased by a giant bug was a good motivator. Her adrenaline was rushing, blood was pumping in her eardrums. She couldn't get control over her breathing. She knew there was a tactic to breathing while running, but for the life of her she couldn't remember.

 

Raine stumbled, gasping as she reached down to touch her bleeding leg.

 

"Raine!" The other three called out. Kia found herself surging forward to push the skunk girl out of the way as the centipede lurched downwards, little bug-talon feet poised to stab the toons. The centipede slammed it's sharp feet into the road below, creating cracks and divots. It roared at them, and Kia felt her heart nearly leap out of her chest and up her throat.

 

"Raine! Kia!" Jackson yelled, wild-eyed, as the centipede turned and circled them. Kristy, fur fluffed up so much she looked like a long-haired breed of cat, such as a Persian, stared in horror.

 

Kia pulled Raine up with her, and the two just barely managed to duck out of the way from the centipede as it opened its ugly mouth and snapped at them. Raine grabbed a plank of wood that had broken off from a house and tossed it at the centipede as it opened its large mouth again. The wood lodged directly in its mouth. It's buggy eyes seemed to gleam and glisten with hatred as it shook its head around.

 

Raine and Kia ran around the centipede as it struggled, trying to get back to Jackson and Kristy. Unfortunately, the centipede snapped the wood in half and swivelled around, practically climbing over its own long body to cut them off. It whipped out a leg and knocked Kia off of her feet, throwing her backwards. It snarled at Raine before lurching forward to snap at Jackson and Kristy, who ran away from the monster's bite.

 

"Kia!" Kristy called out, gaze glazed with worry for her friend. Kia sucked in a frantic breath when the air came rushing back to her lungs.

 

"We're getting seperated!" Raine growled as the centipede circled around and pushed her back towards Kia, further away from Jackson and Kristy.

 

"No!" Kristy wailed, jerking forwards as if to run towards them. Jackson grabbed her arm.

 

"Wait! It's too risky! M-Maybe if we split up, it won't get  _ all o _ f us! It won't get  _ any  _ of us! We can meet back up at the University!" Jackson desperately scrambled over his own words. Kristy seemed to heavily disagree, but Raine was already yelling back her agreement, dipping down to help Kia up before dragging her into a trashed and muddy alleyway. The centipede angrily crawled after them, snarling and clicking its pinchers.

 

The skunk toon’s breath was raspy, and she limped heavily, but she was still the one pulling Kia along and away from the hungry chomps of the centipede. Kia didn’t want to be dead weight her friend had to pull along, especially when she was the injured one. Kia pushed away her exhaustion best she could and moved her legs as fast as she could. She should have taken track more often than she had. She raced past the dark alleyways, running over the cracked cement of the road.

 

Raine suddenly shoved Kia out of the way as the centipede slammed its claw down.

 

“Raine!” Kia screamed.

 

“I’m fine!” came the strangled hiss from the skunk. She yanked her tail away from where the claw had slammed down, large tufts of fur being pulled away. “Just run! Run, Kia! Don’t stop! Don’t let this  _ thing  _ catch you!”

 

“I can’t leave you!”

 

“You aren’t! We’ll all meet back up at the University, like Jacks said!” Raine yelled back at her, dipping out of the way of the centipede’s foot as it swiped at her.

 

“But-”

 

“Go!” Raine snarled as the centipede snapped its jaws around her arm. She bared her fangs at it and clawed at its eyes, but the centipede held tight, dragging her away. Kia’s eyes widened. She couldn’t just abandoned her friend! But... it was Raine! Raine would be the most likely to survive out of any of them, right?

 

“I- I’ll s-see you again!” Kia called out lamely, not sure what else she could say. Raine was strong. She was clever. She would get out of that monster's grasp.

 

Kia clenched her fists, shaking, pale and sweating as she watched her friend fight against the centipede as it dragged her further and further away. It took the howl of a canine nearby for Kia to snap back into reality. She sucked in a wobbly breath before she turned around and ran.

 

Just her luck, a werewolf had caught her running out of the corner of its eyes and started chasing. Could she keep on running? She had to. She had to meet back up with the others.

 

She veered down a street that seemed familiar to her, the one that went to one of her old workplaces. She let her feet guide her down the street, knowing there was a shortcut in an alley that would be too tight for the werewolf to follow.

 

She glanced behind her, picking up speed as the werewolf's jaws snapped inches away from her. She could hardly breath anymore, and she felt like she was going to collapse and die on the spot.

 

Kia turned into the alley, turning her body sideways to better fit in. The werewolf's claw slammed into the crevice, clawing at the sides. It attempted to push its ugly snout through, drool dripping down disgustingly.

 

Kia gasped, shivering from fear and from cold. Her hand clenched tightly around the knife she had forgotten she still held. She pressed herself against the wall and kept shimming further into the crevice.

 

And then her foot hit empty air.

 

And her other foot, hanging on the edge, with a wet and muddied shoe, slipped.

 

And then she was falling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [RogueFalcon](https://roguefalcon.tumblr.com/) drew my beautiful dire wolf!! Look at him!! Look at his fangs! His claws! The beautiful coloring and shading!
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> And just because, here's some doodles I did of Kia's crew!
> 
>  
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> 
> 
> Thank you for reading, stay tuned for ch. 28: Friend or Foe, Part 2- Electric Boogaloo, good luck and good writing!


	28. Friend or Foe, Part 2- Electric Boogaloo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's one of my favorite chapters! For... Pretty much no reason other than I just really liked the name. XD Well, anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Friend or Foe, Part Two- Electric Boogaloo**

 

The girl struggled over her sharp intakes of breath as she moved her leg, gripping it with her hands. Just getting into a more comfortable position was too painful for her to handle.

 

After she had fallen a whole  _ six _ days ago, she had been struggling to find a good hiding place. Eventually, she could no longer walk on her broken leg, collapsing to the ground and being forced to crawl. She felt like a fly who's wings had been torn off and no longer knew what to do.

 

What  _ could  _ she do but struggle and starve? Everything in the trash was hardly edible, and would make her sick, although she had been forced to eat some leftovers in garbage cans already. She tried to find what was… most safely edible, but she had already thrown up a few times. She had a weak stomach, unfortunately.

 

There was the lightest of creaks on wood, one that could have merely been dismissed as a rat scuttling across the floorboards, but Kia knew you couldn't even trust a rat anymore, not in the hell Toon Town had become.

 

Her hand darted to grab the knife she had placed on the floor when she had gone to move her leg. Feeling the knife-  _ Jackson's  _ knife in her hand, familiar and cold, gave her a greater sense of control. At the very least, if something attacked her, she could gouge an eye out in vengeance.

 

She pointed the knife forward, toward the hole in the wall, where a pale girl with short hair now stood. Kia felt a glimmer of hope that she might finally have a friend, before she noticed the tiny, shiny fangs in the girl's mouth and knew she was most certainly  _ not  _ a friend, but a monster.

 

The monster girl raised her hands up, showing she had no weapons held in her hands, or claw-like nails. "Hey, hey," the monster murmured.

 

"St-stay back! I-I'm not afraid to use this!" Her voice raspy and shaky. She hadn't properly spoken in awhile, too afraid to make any noise to even talk to herself. She hated how her voice cracked too- the monster would sense her weakness.

 

“I’m not gonna hurt you, I promise,” she said softly, as if Kia was a frantic child. “I just- look, I mean no harm, I just couldn’t help but-”

 

“You smelt my blood didn’t you! You monster!” Kia snapped back, hand shaking. “N-No one else would have even thought to check back here! I’m not- I’m not g-gonna be your p-prey, so just leave!”

 

The monster girl flinched, her gaze falling to the ground as her hands dropped to her sides.. “I-I d-did smell your blood, but- um. You’re not my ‘prey’. I just wanted to see if you were okay.”

 

Kia faltered, the knife dropping slightly. What? Was this girl serious? Or was this some kind of manipulation so she could get close to Kia, and then stab her in the back with her own knife?

 

She eyed the girl warily. “Wh-why? Y-You’re a v-vampire, aren’t you? Don’t you wanna, like, suck my blood, or something?” That was the stereotype of vampires, was it not? Or would the vampire do something even worse?

 

The vampire rubbed her arm, a sign of nervousness in toons. “Well, I mean, I- it’s complicated. It’s not like I wanna k-kill you or-” Her gaze flickered to Kia's leg, and Kia felt herself bristle like a cat defensively. She could defend herself, broken leg or not. “Hurt you. I just smelled your blood and th-thought you might want help.”

 

Kia narrowed her eyes distrustingly. “‘It’s complicated’?" Complicated how? As in she didn't want to hurt her, but she had to because it was in her nature, or some stardust? "You didn’t answer my question. D-Don’t b-beat around the bush here. I have a knife!” Jackson's knife.  _ Her  _ knife.

 

The vampire girl mumbled something Kia couldn't catch under her breath before clearing her throat. "It is complicated, ma’am. I do want to drink your blood, but I don’t, like… need to? N-Not this instance at least.” Oh, yeah, like that was so reassuring! Kia was feeling very safe right now! “I mean! I don’t have to drink your blood, like, ever! It’s just, it’s like, erm… For example, maybe you see an attractive person, and think you want to date them. That doesn’t m-mean you have to date them, or will, but, the urge or thought is still there? Does that make sense?”

 

She was… talking about relationships? What kind of monster talked about  _ love  _ and  _ romance  _ and  _ dating?  _

 

Kia felt herself deflate as she sighed. “I-I guess. I still don’t trust you, though.” She narrowed her eyes. “L-Look, I don’t n-need your help. So, if you wanna be all ‘friendly’ and ‘nice’-” She made air quotes around the two words- “why don’t you just leave? That’d make me feel safer, so that’s the friendly thing to do,  _ ma’am _ .” She didn't trust the vampire's kind manners, or apparent honesty, but if she was willing to talk and be peaceful, then Kia wasn't going to be hostile and provoke her into attacking.

 

The vampire winced, pursing her lips. “I-...” Her gaze, which was still on the floor, changed into something less… friendly. Not threatening, but it was as though she was thinking over an incredibly difficult math problem. There was an eerie silence for a moment before the vampire lifted her head and gave Kia what seemed to be a shy smile. “Sure. B-But, if I find any bandages, or something, I’ll come back, alright? I’ll just- I won’t even talk to you, if you want. I’ll just give them to you.”

 

“Do what you want. Just get out,” Kia growled, not trusting her  _ at all _ . “And don’t even think of leading your monster friends back to me, vampire. I-It wouldn’t be the friendly thing to do.” She raised the knife back up, pointing it at the vampire girl with all the strength she could muster.

 

The girl ducked her head before she slowly turned and left through the hole in the wall. Kia immediately fell backwards, leaning all of her weight against the wall behind her. She shut her eyes closed and grit her teeth, hissing as her leg throbbed persistently.

 

Cuss. Was it really a good idea to turn away someone willing to help? No, no, of course it was a good idea. That wasn't just a 'someone'. It was a vampire, a monster. Even if she was willing to help, could Kia really trust her not to have ulterior motives? What if she sucked blood out of Kia's neck while she slept, or something? The vampire was not to be trusted.

 

No monster was.

 

It was that monster centipede that had gotten her into this situation. It was that monster that had dragged off her friend.

 

Kia's heart thudded inside her ribcage. Raine. Jackson. Kristy. She hoped they were all okay. Even friends and acquaintances she hadn't talked to in awhile- Landon, Katie, Josephine, her professors… so many people she knew in Toon Town… The girls who worked at that flower shop Kia had gone to to get flowers for her mother when she was sick. The shop run by that woman named Betty, and her husband. Even the people she didn't know, she worried for. Those she had heard of in the news, those with that new disease, ink illness…

 

"Mew?" The sudden sound made Kia jerk upwards, fingers curling tightly around the handle of her knife, her knuckles going ghostly white. She could feel the sweat drip down her face as she glanced frantically around.

 

"Meow?" She tilted her head down, gaze locking onto the speaker.

 

A little kitten. He looked somewhat familiar, although it might be because he had that common black and white pelt called a tuxedo. He wore a bow around his neck, one that was singed at the edges. He was covered in dirt, muck and soot, but that wasn't the worst of it. The poor little kitten had missing patches of fur everywhere. Those patches had clearly been burned off, leaving tender skin exposed to the world. One of his front legs was practically missing all of its fur, and his tail resembled that of a lion's too. His nose and the side of his eye had gotten caught in the fire too, which couldn't feel good.

 

Kia dropped the arm with the knife, reaching out the other one, fingers extended. The kitten flinched away before slowly padding forward, burned nose twitching. He tilted his head, ears folded backwards as he gazed up at her with big, fearful eyes.

 

"It's okay," Kia said softly. "I won't hurt you."

 

"Mrow?" The cat leaned his head forward, rubbing it against her hand. She hummed quietly under her breath as she scratched behind his ear. She moved her finger down to his neck, nudging part of the bow away to grab at a little tag that lay hidden under the fabric. The name was hard to read- it was scratched, burned and dirtied, but she thought she could at least make out 'Fig'.

 

"So your name is Fig, huh?" Kia murmured under breath. "Wonder what happened to you…"

 

The cat's ears perked up, and he meowed out. He leaped into her lap, careful not to stand on her broken leg. He nuzzled up against her stomach as she scratched his ears.

 

Kia felt the world slow around her as she focused on Fig. Black spots seemed to fill her vision, but she didn't notice them at all.

 

She didn't notice when her vision went black completely.

 

\------------

 

When she jerked awake, she was disoriented, confused and panicked. The world around her was dark, damp, and caving in. The ceiling above was curved downward under pressure. Kia immediately felt claustrophobic, and attempted to push herself up and hug her knees, but her leg cackled harshly with pain, making her howl out.

 

She slammed her hand over her mouth quickly as memories came swarming back to here- she couldn't attract attention. Monsters might find her, attack her and eat her.

 

But, as her vision cleared from its blurriness, she thought perhaps it didn't matter… because there was already monster in front of her.

 

The starfallen vampire from before.

 

Kia's heart leaped to her throat. Cussing hell. Had the vampire come back to suck her blood? Had she already sucked her blood? Kia's hand flew to her neck to check for the indents of bite marks.

 

The vampire girl watched her with a neutral expression. She murmured, "I didn't suck your blood, don't worry."

 

She gently walked forward, kneeling down a touch. Kia realized she was holding two planks of wood in her arms. She slowly, purposefully slow, layed down the planks, along with a long string of hairy rope.

 

"If you let me, I can tie the planks around your leg so the bone can heal better," the vampire told her. Kia stared at her, dumbfounded and trying to get her frantic mind to calm down.

 

The little kitten with the burns from before nudged her hand, slipping under her arm, placing his paws on her thigh as he glanced up at her. Fig meowed before trotting over to the vampire and rubbing against her leg.

 

Kia glanced briefly at the cat before her gaze flickered back to her injured leg.

 

It was… bandaged. The dirtied off-white curled around her leg, patched with dried blood, grim and gross sweat. Kia sucked in a sharp breath, feeling the world swirl around her. How did- when had- what had?

 

"Sorry," the vampire… apologized? "I tried to, uhm, bandage it, but, uh, it's a broken leg, and I don't really… know how to… fix those. I thought about taking you the, uh, Surface hospital, but I-... I  _ heard _ it's pretty crowded. And it's far away."

 

Kia stared at the vampire. She was  _ actually  _ being nice? She hadn't taken advantage of Kia being unconscious to suck her blood? Ripped her limbs off? Set up a trap to scare her? Dragged her body into the streets to be mailed and eaten by overgrown centipedes and flying lizards?

 

What was this monster's goal?

 

"Who… who  _ are  _ you?" Kia hissed out, shoulders quaking. Her fingers twitched around the handle of her familiar knife.

 

The vampire blinked. "My name is Valentine." She blushed a bit. "L-Like the holiday. You can call me Valen, or 'tine, if you want. I don't mind."

 

A vampire… named  _ Valentine?  _ The holiday of love? Well, she guessed that vampires would manipulate and seduce their victims, so perhaps Valentine wasn't all that far-fetched as a vampire name.

 

"You've been passed out for a little over a day, I think," Valentine continued. "You're lucky you've survived so long unconscious, uh, ma'am."

 

"Kia," she mumbled out, turning to her gaze toward Fig as he padded back to her.

 

"Huh?" Valentine blinked owlishly.

 

"My name's Kia," she repeated. She reached out a hand to pet Fig's head, thankful for the animal's presence. She took in a deep breath before she rasped out, "So why are you here? It's not just to help me, is it? What do you want?"

 

"I…" Valentine stalled for a moment, gaze flickering to the side. "I don't really want anything, actually. I was just, uhm, I didn't have anything else to do."

 

"So you're just helping me cause you're  _ bored? _ " Kia growled at her, eyes narrowed.

 

Valentine fiddled with her shirt sleeve. "It's- It's, uh, complicated. The Surface dwellers- er, toons, I'm with right now, it's… it's weird… and coped up, inside their house, I just don't feel, uh, right. I just needed something to do, and helping you guys- you injured toons- is a… nice change of pace from helping my friends- um, those are- they are the Halloween Townees- er, the, uh,  _ monsters _ , I guess."

 

Kia was silent for a moment, not knowing if the vampire was truthful or not. It was a weird truth, if it was true, but it would be an even odder lie, Kia supposed. She bit her lip before finally saying, "Whatever. I don't need your life story, just- just but the boards on my leg, and finish helping me."

 

And, to her surprise, Valentine did shut up, calmly picking up the wooden boards and placing them on either side of Kia's leg. Kia winced, but tried to stop herself from squirming. Valentine quickly wrapped the rope around the boards to hold them in place, tying them nicely into a knot at the end.

 

Before the vampire could even get a word in, Kia snapped out, "You can leave now." She felt vulnerable, shaking and sitting on her rump as a  _ vampire  _ took care of her. "Get out."

 

Valentine hesitated. "Is- Is there anything else I can do?"

 

Kia snarled out, "No," but then she paused. Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask… "B-But, if you could, can you find m-my friends. They're names are Kristy, Raine and Jackson- they're a cat, Siamese-Ragdoll in breed, very proud of that, a skunk, s-she's pretty athletic, a-and Jacks is a human, with freckles, and lanky arms…"

 

Valentine's eyes seemed to flash with familiarity as Kia mentioned them, filling Kia with a sudden drop of suspicion and dread.

 

There was a rumble, and Kia turned down to look at Fig as the cat's stomach growled. He mewed noisily, pawing at her side.

 

"A-and some cat food," Kia added. Valentine smiled and nodded.

 

"I can do that."

 

And then she left, leaving Kia filled with a flurry of confusion, aching dread, a loud hunger, and the dull sting of a broken leg healing as she scratched Fig's ears tenderly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kia and Valentine finally meet! Well, I say finally, but they have already met at where we are currently in the Dark Holly timeline. Fairly certain every knew that girl Valentine talked to way back when during Fang, Bite and Sinker was Kia XD
> 
> Oh! And even more important! Kia and Fig(aro) meet in this chapter as well! Poor kitty, all burned up like that ;( At least he's in good hands now!
> 
> And! Here's [a link!](https://youtu.be/-7qP7ACHzKA) to a short PMV I made for my AU!
> 
> Thank you for reading, stay tuned for 29: Behind the Scenes, good luck and good writing!


	29. Behind the Scenes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kinda a short chapter, but I needed to get back into the swing of things. This is the last chapter following Kia (for now)! I'm gonna miss her ;( Writing her was very fun- a breath of fresh air... But I'm very eager to get back to the Questers... ;)
> 
> Hope you enjoy reading!

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Behind the Scenes**

 

Kia walked through the rugged, trashed roads of Toon Town. She limped slightly on one of her legs as it never healed properly, but she pushed past the pain. It was miniscule, like a buzzing fly, compared to other injuries she had sustained since then, including a long scar curling down her chest and a bite on the back of her neck that had nearly killed her. Other wounds had healed, albeit poorly, over time.

 

Her trusty knife was held tightly in her hand, the edges worn with age and use, but she refused to abandon it. She swirled it around almost playfully as she scanned the shadows and skies around her coldly. Her posture was stiff, her ears and eyes alert. She relied more on her ears than her eyes- her glasses had long since broken past use, although she kept them in her pocket. As well as that, Toon Town was forever cast in darkness, lit up only by flashes of lightning and the breath of fire-breathers.

 

Fig, the cat whose fur was burned by the flames, trotted confidently at her side, his ears pricked for danger and tail raised high. He paused as he walked beside her, ears twitching as he glanced behind them.

 

Kia stopped as well, the sound of timid footsteps on gravel and rocks reaching her ears. She turned, her eyes slowly making out a toon approaching her from the shadows. A snake toon, to be precise, his forked tongue flicking out as he dipped his head to her, gaze glancing frantically around.

 

"Misssss Kia," he murmured out hesitantly. "Th-They found another family trapped in a bassssement of a building that collapsed. One woman already sssstarved to death, assss well asss their pet dog. They don't have enough food, but we alssso can't move the planks out of the way to pull them out."

 

"Are the holes big enough to slip food to them?" Kia asked.

 

"Yesss, but," the snake paused, tail tip flicking. "We- we don't have enough food to sssspare."

 

Kia narrowed her eyes. "Are there any kids with the family?"

 

"Yesss, two."

 

"Then they get priority. After they eat, the rations go to anyone helping the family, and the rest go to those trapped," Kia ordered. As much as she'd like everyone to be saved and to be fed, those people were already trapped. Already doomed. She had to save her own people first.

 

"We'll have to split up teams more. We need more people going scavenging for food and resources than helping the trapped and injured right now." Kia tilted her head as she thought. "Landon's at your camp, isn't he? Have him split up the teams."

 

The snake nodded. "O-Of courssse, Misssss Kia."

 

"I'll take my camp down to look at the trapped family later today," Kia continued. "You can go."

 

He dipped his head down to her nervously before turning and slithering away. At first, toons bowing down to her and being so proper in names around her had unnerved her. She wasn't anyone special, not "leader" material. She was no survivalist. But, then, she realized, if people called her "Miss Kia", turning to her for instructions, other people who stumbled upon her little group believed she was not to be argued against. It made life a whole lot easier.

 

After the snake was completely out of her (poor) sight, she tipped her head to the side, looking over her shoulder.

 

"Is there anyone new at our camp?" She asked the shadows.

 

And the shadows responded, "Just one. A little boy separated from his parents." And from the shadows stepped out a cat toon with messy, grimmy fur, ungroomed and wild, a large bite mark on her arm, the sleeve of her shirt ripped off.

 

Kia smiled at her Burmese-Ragdoll friend. "And the other camps?"

 

"You already know about Landon's," Kristy responded. "I've heard from Josephine and that one mouse- Basil, was it?-'s camps. No one new in Josephine's, but Basil's been saving as many as he can. They're getting over-crowded, and supplies are thin."

 

Kia clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "They should split up. It's not good to have that many people in one area. It attracts attention. And rations are harder to organize."

 

"I'll tell them next time I visit." Kristy nodded. "I haven't heard from the other camps yet… but I've heard rumor that a… mummy-panther attacked the camp that's near that castle."

 

Fig let out a rumbly growl while Kia scowled. " _ Her  _ castle," she practically spat. The one who had started this all. Miss 'All-Powerful'. Controller of the animals who hunted them down. If Valentine's word was to be believed. "How many casualties?"

 

"Unclear. Presumably not many, but that camp was small in number," Kristy answered, tail swaying behind her.

 

"It's not safe to be near her castle. We should tell camps to move away from it," Kia said. Fig meowed in agreement.

 

Kristy frowned, ear twitching. "They won't be willing to move from somewhere they consider safe." She paused. "...But this attack might tell them it isn't as safe as they think."

 

Kia hummed her agreement before sighing, rubbing her forehead. "Our group should go scavenging before we visit Landon's camp. We need more water, don't we?"

 

"Yes," Kristy agreed. "Should I fetch Valentine to help?"

 

"If she's not busy," Kia responded. "She's got an eye for bandages and medicine, too. Miss Boop is still sick."

 

"And getting worse since her husband's death," Kristy added, gaze flicking sadly to the ground.

 

"It wasn't your fault," Kia murmured to her downcast friend.

 

"I know," Kristy sighed. "But it doesn't soothe the guilt."

 

They stood in silence, Kia not knowing what to say to her friend. Knowing how to comfort someone had long since slipped out of Kia's grasp. She looked at the world far too grimly and realistically now. Comfort was not her strong suit anymore. How could one comfort someone who had witnessed a toon get eaten and puked out by a giant bird anyway?

 

Kia turned and started to walk away. Kristy nodded to her and climbed up the side of a building, heading the other direction. Fig trotted after Kia, paw pads soft and tender on the hard, littered floors.

 

It was like every other day, creeping silently through the eternal night, wondering and worrying what might attack them next. There was no room for other thoughts, so Kia forced away the thoughts of her friends. Kristy, tortured by the thought of those she failed to save, Raine, dead and buried beneath the ground, and Jackson, somewhere out there if Valentine's word was to be trusted.

 

It did her no good to think of them now. The present, a focus on survival, mattered most.

 

She veered her path away from a griffin as it screeched and dived down towards whatever unfortunate toon had become its prey. Fig kept his ears pricked, making sure the griffin did not target them, but Kia had confidence that it wouldn't.

 

Fig meowed for her attention, making her pause. He pointed a paw towards where the griffin had been. Its path had curved, flying away, when a sudden bolt of  _ color _ \- blue- shot after it. It dodged out of the way, dropping its prey. The toon was unluckily enough to be sent crashing towards a house instead of given a swift and painless death.

 

She heard the creaking and cracking off the wood of the house as it caved slightly in, weak wooden boards breaking under the toon's weight, most likely.

 

Kia watched, intending to turn and leave, but Fig pawed at her leg. He bounded towards the house.

 

"Fig!" Kia hissed out. Dumb cat. What was he thinking! They had better things to do! The loud sound would attract predators!

 

Kia followed after her cat. She held her knife out as she entered the building. Fig's non-burned fur patches fluffed up as they both scanned around for what would mostly likely be a corpse.

 

A groan redirected her attention to a pile of splintered wood planks. Dust littered the air. So the toon who had crashed through was alive. Now it was time to assess if they were a threat or not.

 

She held her knife out further as she approached, eyes narrowed. The skinny, crumpled body trembled, blood pooling slowly around it. The head with a mop of short, messy hair glanced up at Kia and Fig's soft footsteps. His wide eyes and pale freckled face represented panic, and defeat. And, then, from his mouth, slipped,

 

"Kia?"

 

Her knife dropped.

 

"Jackson?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Isn't it fun to know what else is going on in the world while our maim characters struggle? Kia seems to have found her footing-- and her friends! Well, some of them, at least. Poor Raine.
> 
> Thank you for reading, stay tuned for next chapter- 30: As Black As Snow, good luck and good writing!


	30. As Black as Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! Done a good few days before my posting time! I really am getting back into the swing of things XD Hopefully it stays that way!
> 
> On a less cheery note, doesn't that chapter title seem familiar?
> 
> ...Hope you enjoy reading!

**Chapter Thirty: As Black as Snow**

 

Felix padded silently after the group as they struggled onwards. They looked downright miserable, and why wouldn't they be?

 

Finley was dead. Two more toons had died on their conscious. Some of them had permanent injuries, and all of them had wounds of some sort. Their home had been burned mercilessly to the ground, along with plenty of valuable information on ink illness. They were being hunted down by monsters that were sent after them by their former friend, who had been possessed by the very thing meant to cure ink illness. Cuphead was missing, dead, even, and, to them, Felix was missing as well. What made it worse is that he  _ wasn't  _ missing. He was right here, a few tail-lengths away.

 

And he had betrayed them.

 

He had stolen Alice's halo  _ twice _ , helped poison Finley, led beasts to them, dragged a  _ dead body _ in front of their house….

 

What was he  _ doing?  _ Why didn't he stop? It was wrong no matter how you looked at it. But he didn't stop. He wanted to, didn't he? So why didn't he? Because Holly wouldn't let him? Because the dire wolf would attack him? Because the twitchy griffin would be alone and yelled at in the castle? Because the creatures that wandered the halls might fight each other if he didn't interfere?

 

Because Holly would kill the baby bugcat if he didn't follow her orders?

 

His claws curled into the soft, gritty dirt below as his tail lashed. That innocent kitten didn't need to be dragged into this. She had just been born! She hadn't even opened her eyes, or spoken.

 

_ Are you okay, strange cat?  _ A familiar voice chattered in his ear. Snowball hung on his shoulder, although he had told her not to. He didn't want the others to notice him. But she insisted.

 

"I'm fine," Felix muttered under his breath, quietly as he could. He slinked down into a crevice, silently looping around the group as they continued walking. Was this direction safe? His ears pricked. He couldn't hear anything close by, but many monsters were silent hunters.

 

_ You don't seem fine,  _ Snowball argued, twitching her little nose.  _ You seem very angry. You smell dark. _

 

He paused, glancing at her. " _ I  _ smell dark?" She had commented on darkness around him before, but that had been more of the concept that he had been  _ touched  _ by darkness. By Holly's magic. By the cog. Not that he himself  _ smelled  _ like darkness.

 

_ Like how mother was when she messed with the de- cog,  _ she corrected herself, mumbling something about 'big people words'.  _ But yours isn't an overwhelming, cold aura.  _ She shivered just thinking about it.  _ Just dark. _

 

Felix frowned. What could that mean? Had he been around the cog too much? Had it's dark magic stuck to his pelt like burrs? He hoped not.

 

He continued on, trying to push the thoughts away, but his pelt prickled regardless, unnerved.

 

He jumped out of the crevice, watching as Mugman, Bendy and Oddswell discussed where to head next. Alice had her magic-sensing map out. He should probably report that to Holly and see if she wanted that- wait, no. He  _ shouldn't  _ do that. That was bad for the group. It was one of their only safety precautions left. They needed it.

 

He settled down on his paws, watching from an alleyway. Thunder cracked in the distance as a sudden storm began. Luckily, they were just out of reach from the pouring water, but it was close by. Some creatures might wander over here to get out of the rain. That wasn't good.

 

He laid his head down, trying hard not to think about anything. His head felt crowded with all his screaming thoughts, yet the soft whispers in the back felt the worst. The ones of a coward, the ones of a blind follower, the ones of someone who wanted to shut down and stop thinking because it was too hard. It wasn't like him, it wasn't like  _ him. _

 

Snowball nuzzled his ear, bristles pricking with how stiff and grimy they had become. They were clumped together, riddled with dirt and muck. Felix was half tempted to start grooming her, but he knew it would taste bad, and he'd be afraid to accidentally stab her with his fangs.

 

Plus, he didn't want a reminder of what he had done for Holly. What had resulted in the bugcat's creation.

 

_ Why don't the others like you anymore?  _ Snowball asked.

 

Felix frowned. "You  _ know  _ why Snow." They had argued about it once.

 

_ But you're good now.  _ She looked up at him with big eyes.  _ Right? _

 

Felix felt his body tense, his fur pricking uncomfortably. He  _ wanted  _ to be… but was he? "I," he hesitated. "Don't know."

 

Snowball frowned, nudging him and inquiring for more information.

 

"I wish I could do what's right, but my mind, it…" He let out some weird gurgle of frustration, sinking his claws into the ground below, tail lashing vexedly behind him. "It's like it keeps getting cloudy- just  _ filled  _ with foggy fear- when I want to do what's right, and suddenly I'm doing what's  _ wrong!  _ And your mother isn't helping…" he added in a low murmur.

 

Snowball placed a paw on his shoulder, smiling up at him comfortingly. In a hedgehog-y way. Her bristles softened and she rubbed up against him, head in the crook of his neck. He relaxed, curling around her a bit, placing a light lick on her ear without thinking.

 

Panic and pressure wasn't the only thing that clouded his mind. When the dire wolf had snatched Snowball, the only thing he could focus on was getting her away from him, by any means. And the same thing had happened when Holly had been abusing the bug-kitten. It… unsettled him that his mind could just be lost like that. The blood pouring out of wounds he caused, coating his claws. He felt confused just thinking about it, unable to get his thoughts straight.

 

His thoughts stopped abruptly as he caught a pair of eyes gazing at him curiously. The others were focused on each other, making sure everyone was okay, but, Snow White had her attention turned to him and Snowball.

 

His hair rose uncomfortably. Why had she not raised an alarm when she noticed he was there. He jumped to his paws, Snowball meeping in protest at his sudden movement. She glared up at him before following his gaze. She tilted her head.

 

_ Pretty Lady! She's very nice, strange cat. She gives the best scratches.  _ Snowball chirped obliviously.  _ She can understand us sometimes. _

 

Felix's ears feel as dread filled him. His heart pounded.

 

_ 'No, no, no, no, no…'  _ She  _ couldn't  _ understand them, surely. Not that well, at least. If she could, then she  _ knew, she knew _ , he was Felix. Or maybe he was overthinking. Maybe she didn't know. But at the very least she knew something, and that made him terrified.

 

_ Felix?  _ Snowball asked, concerned, placing a paw on his shoulder.

 

His fur fluffed up madly. He could practically feel the cog tag on his chest pulse with runed magic.

 

"No!" He shouted. Snowball jerked back, startled. Without warning, he whipped around and  _ bolted  _ away from them.

 

_ 'She knows, she knows she knows, she knows she knows,'  _ his thoughts raced on hectically.

 

He kept running even when his legs felt weak. He jumped from dead vine to trash can to broken metal platform as he ran. He didn't know what was going to happen now that she knew, but  _ he _ knew it wasn't going to be pretty. Not for the 'Pretty Lady', at least.

 

But maybe if he just stayed away she'd be safe. Maybe then it'd blow over and nothing would come of it.

 

But would Holly ever let it?

 

Felix stopped, panting. A Gate rune was nearby. He could use it to go back to the castle, back to the bugcat, and he could just curl around her and forget everything that's happened. His body shook, legs trembling. Cuss. He messed up again. This time he could only hope it didn't end in death.

 

Footsteps sounded behind him, making Felix jump. He whirled around, growling, low in his throat, wary of predators. Not all creatures listened to Holly's commands. Not yet.

 

He blinked, fur flattening. Not a foe, but it didn't make it any better.

 

Snow White had followed him.

 

Before she had a chance to say anything, words began tumbling out of his mouth. "You have to leave. You have to go. They're watching-  _ she's  _ watching. It's not safe, it's  _ never  _ safe, but you're not safe here."

 

Snow White blinked her long lashes, puzzled. "What? Felix, is that really you? What do you mean?"

 

"It doesn't matter," Felix hurriedly said. "Who I am doesn't matter. I'm the witch's cat. Just leave. You have to go!" He backed up a few pawsteps, glancing around nervously. His eyes caught on a dark shadow flying above- and then the silhouette of a spider curling around a tower in the distance, and then his ears twitched as he heard the scuttling of mice. What was a real threat, and what was he merely paranoid about?

 

She frowned. "Felix, what?"

 

" _ I'm not Felix, _ " he hissed out, curling his claws. He really wished he wasn't. "I'm just a cat. And you need to  _ leave. _ " He lashed his tail, glancing around again. "She's going to kill you."

 

Snow White paled, but held her head high. "Holly? She's trying to kill us all. Felix, why aren't you helping us?"

 

The question tore at his heart, made him burn up inside and out. He sucked in a sharp breath that he nearly choked on. He placed a paw on his cog tag. A wave of cold magic rushed towards him, curling up his leg, cooling his body from his ears to his tail tip. He steadied himself with a breath, feeling calmer, clearer.

 

"I can't," he answered. "She won't let me. But I can help you if you leave. Turn around and go back to the group. They must have realized you're gone by now. They'll be freaking out."  _ 'Because they probably think you're dead. Which you might be soon, if you don't leave.' _

 

Snow White pursed her lips. "Alright. But I'll have to tell them-"

 

"No!" He yowled, shoulder fur bristling. "Don't. It's bad enough you know. If the others know, Holly will torment them."

 

"Is she not doing that already?"

 

He opened his mouth to respond, before closing it, brows furrowed. She… most certainly was. And could it really get much worse than this? Perhaps. But… The bug-kitten. Snowball. Holly would go for them. And they were much more defenseless than the others.

 

A chill went up his spine at the thought of either of them dying. It was awful to think of Finley's death, but he didn't think he could handle the death of two innocent little creatures murdered by their own mother.

 

"Just." His throat felt clogged, hard to push out the words. "Don't," he rasped out. "There's- There's others she can harm too, that she hasn't yet." Well. Hasn't harmed as much as everyone else.

 

Snow White's gaze softened. "Who-?"

 

She didn't get to finish.

 

Felix was a fool. He should have been paying attention.

 

Golden runes- those stupid, infuriating,  _ terrifying  _ golden runes- lit up behind Snow White. A black feline shot out, wrapped in white bandages like a mummy. Its jaws latched onto the back of Snow's neck, claws curling around her shoulders. She screamed, crumpling to the ground, trying to wiggle out it's grasp.

 

Felix stared numbly in shock before he winced, wobbling backwards as he shut his eyes closed. He flattened his ears against his head.

 

Why would the panther just do that? All animals loved Snow White. Surely,  _ surely _ , it wouldn't harm her, even under Holly's command…?

 

The moment the scream cut off, there was a light huff, catching Felix's attention. He tentatively opened his eyes, choosing to focus only on the black feline.

 

It's eyes were pitch black, a strange symbol, an odd rune, glowing that burning golden in the middle.

 

_ Don't disobey me,  _ it growled out, lips pulled back to reveal fangs dripping blood. And with a blink, the runes were gone, the panther flicking his ears and leaning down to sniff his kill.

 

"Eat her and I'll send you to the peryton den," Felix growled out. The panther stared at him, and Felix wondered if he'd realize Felix didn't have the power to do so.

 

But the panther grunted, taking his claws off of the body, and padding away with a vexedly twitching tail tip.

 

Felix's body quaked, and he collapsed to the ground, head buried in his paws. He didn't want to be here, the scent of blood wafting around him, coldness and darkness everywhere. He wanted to be back at the house, laughing with everyone, helping Bendy and Boris, discussing with Dr. Oddswell.

 

He wanted to go back to the castle and curl around his bugcat, listening to her purr, oblivious to the dangers around her, seeking only his comforting warmth and exploring the world with naive curiosity. To have the dire wolf bark commandingly at him, but ultimately lick his ear or sniff the bugcat's head in greeting. For the griffin to nervously jump around, but brighten up when he saw the little kitten, although he was too afraid to approach. To have the fire tiger greet him like he was one of her cubs, while her cubs scrambled over each other. For the unicorn with the broken horn, for the giant eagle, for the perytons, for all the creatures in the castle to notice him and give him that little nod of familiarity.

 

But he knew when he touched a Gate rune, when he got back to the castle, Holly would be waiting with a smirk.

 

He forced himself to his paws, trotting over to Snow White's… corpse. He shivered as he approached it, wondering if this was some weird fever dream. He bent his head down to nudge her neck. No pulse. Just the markings of fangs that had twisted around. He dare not look at her face. He dare not look at her more. He didn't want the image of her dead body seared into his head like Finley's. He laid his forehead against the crook of her neck, ignoring the blood and drinking in her scent, committing it to memory. She still smelled alive, aside from the sharp tangy scent of blood. That was how he would remember her. Alive.

 

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. His eyes were wet. "This should have never happened."

 

And he wouldn't let it happen again.

 

He wouldn't.

 

Screw Holly. He would find a way to save them, to end her reign.

 

One way or another.

 

He left the body of Snow White behind, stalking back to the group. They had noticed Snow White was gone, of course. Her husband, Charming, and Sneezy were particularly frantic with worry. They were all trying to remember when they had last seen her. They were all trying to guess where she could have gone. If Holly could have runed her away, and then panicking that she could any of them. That of which Felix was pretty sure Holly could do, and wondered why she didn't. But he guessed it was the "thrill of the hunt" the dire wolf so often talked about.

 

The vampire girl, Tiny Fangs- or, rather, Valentine, was the one to first notice the trail of bloody pawprints. Felix hadn't even noticed he had left the tracks. He glanced at his paws, sticky with Snow's blood. Cuss. It made him nauseated just thinking about it.

 

Bendy was the one who followed the trail with his eyes, until they caught on Felix. His pelt ruffled as the demon snarled at the sight of him.

 

"That cussing black cat is back," he growled out. "That can only mean bad luck."

 

Felix lowered his ears in shame, pelt burning. He ducked his head, whirling away and darting into the shadows.

 

Behind him, Bendy called out hatefully, "Witch's cat!"

 

He watched as Charming, Sneezy, Bendy and Tiny Fangs all started following the trail of his bloody pawprints backwards, while the others waited anxiously. He debated staying where he was, but his traitorous paws were already following after the group.

 

It wasn't long before they came across their beloved friend and actor's body. Sneezy screamed, a scream that made Felix recoil and fold down his ears, his body burning fiercely in hot guilt. Charming froze up, wide-eyed, open-mouthed as if he couldn't believe it. Bendy seemed similarly shocked, but quickly got ahold of his senses. The young demon clenched his fists.

 

"Witch's cat…" Felix tensed up. Did he know he had followed? "That cussing witch's cat. Killed. Snow White. First Finley, now this? If I see that cat again, I am going to make sure I kill each and every one of his nine lives."

 

Felix shivered. He could feel the violent arctic cold waving off of Bendy. It practically froze him to the spot.

 

Perhaps if they looked closer at the wounds, they'd see the bite marks were too big for his fangs… but, did it really matter? He had been a part of the cause of her death, and he despised himself for it. They weren't wrong. They were right to hate him.

 

Sneezy started bawling, large nose running viciously with snot. Charming teared up too, rubbing his friend's back solemnly. Bendy murmured comfort and whispers of revenge to them.

 

Tiny Fangs stood awkwardly behind the three, shifting her feet as she gazed at the dead body. Did she want to drink the corpse's newly spilled blood? Or was she looking at it with pity? He couldn't tell, and it frustrated him.

 

The vampire turned her head, eyes locking on Felix. His fur fluffed up uncomfortably, but he hung his head. She frowned, gazing at him skeptically, a perplexed question in her gaze. Was she going to point out he was here, watching them like some messed up sadist? But, she turned away, ignoring him completely.

 

His ears pricked in surprise… and suspicion. She wasn't going to reveal him? ...Why wouldn't she?

 

He backed away silently, hiding deeper into the shadows. He watched a moment longer before he couldn't anymore, turning and running away, and feeling like he had been in this situation before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bye, Bye, Snow, so sad to see you go ;( I was tempted to keep her alive longer, but I had her death planned long ago, even before she died in Inky Mystery. I kind of wanted to have it from her PoV but I wouldn't really know how to write her thoughts that well ^^' Ah well. She gets murdered no matter who's PoV it is.
> 
> Thank you for reading, stay tuned for ch. 31- No Way Out (could have called this chapter Snow Way Out), good luck and good writing!~


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